


Flashing Green

by orphan_account



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Fluff, F/F, Femslash, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-14 12:19:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 37,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5743606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(AU where they're all back in the Enchanted Forest)<br/>Soon after arriving in the Enchanted Forest, Hook places Emma under a love spell. About a year later, Regina comes across the 'happy' pair and decides to save Emma from the love spell, even though this means kidnapping her and keeping her against her will until her mind clears. As Emma's false feelings for Hook subside, they are overtaken by new found true feelings for her savior.</p><p>In which Regina is Emma's knight in shining armor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 118

The cave was silent, as always, when Regina woke up. The candles which were few and far between provided little light, but she’d grown accustomed to the darkness and the quiet. A small pile of gold coins fell over as she sat up, grumbling, feeling every muscle on her body groan in agony as she moved. There wasn’t a clear patch of floor in sight; every inch of the cave was covered in coins and gold and jewels and treasures beyond one’s imagination. Anyone would have been overjoyed to be inside a cave such like this one, but Regina was not.

Regina hated all of it.

Being pissy as she was, she knocked over a larger pile of coins, causing a small avalanche of gold to fall down towards the bottom of the mountain of treasures. The clink and clatter of the falling metal filled and echoed in the monstrosity of a cave, and she groaned again as the sound invaded her skull and pounded it from within. She raised her hands up to rub at her temples, feeling the weight of the shackles on her wrists drag her arms downward.

Her stomach rumbled, and with a groan she stood up. Her legs were unsteady as she walked across mountains of gold and jewels towards the tiny little staircase at the far end of the cave. At the top of the narrow, winding stairs was a thick, oaken door, in front of which she knew she would find a meager amount of bread and water. It was obvious her captor did not want her dead, despite doing all he could to ensure she was not comfortable in any way or form.

Upon seeing a cup of tea, still steaming hot, and an apple accompanying the usual loaf of bread and pitcher of water, she smiled. She had almost forgotten that today was tea-day, which she had decided was Saturday. Every seven days, her captor gave her a little more than usual, and that was truly her only way of keeping the time. She wasn’t sure that tea-day was actually Saturday, but that was what she had decided.

She took the tray and walked back down the stairs and into the little corner she’d made into her own. The few rags and blankets she’d been given covered an old loveseat, too small to sleep on but comfortable enough to lounge in. Onto it’s wooden backside, she had carved lines to mark the days. This time, too, she went over with a diamond-embellished knife, and carved yet another line amongst the dozens of others. Regina ran her finger over the lines, suddenly overcome with anger as she counted them.

118.

She had been in this godforsaken cave for at least 118 days, and not once had she even seen her captor. Not once had she been outside. She was beginning to forget what sunlight felt like, or how the sky looked, or how fresh air tasted. 

“Never thought I’d miss the outdoors,” she grumbled to herself.

She grabbed a nearby vase and threw it as far as she could, crying out in frustration. It landed relatively close - her strength was not as it used to be, despite all her attempts at working out. Lounging about with nothing to do for 118 days did that to a person.

She returned to her breakfast and tried her best to eat slowly. There was only one meal a day, which left her ravenous and weak and exhausted at all hours. She tried to conserve at least a little bit of what she got, leaving a small piece of bread for when she’d go back to sleep. She missed real food; hot food, anything but bread - she even missed the heart-attack inducing calorie bombs that Granny passed off as burgers. She just wanted to leave.

After she’d eaten, she decided to walk around for a bit. There wasn’t any lack of space in the cave - she knew that walking around it would take at least an hour. But she’d already seen every nook and cranny, looked over each pile of treasure in search of anything to cure her boredom.  There had been a total of two books in the cave. One had been an incredibly long and incredibly boring account of the Third Fairy-Goblin War and it’s implications, and the other had been a tacky love story which would have easily found it’s way in the fireplace had there been one.  She’d taught herself to juggle, too, using anything she could find from cups to swords. She’d taken up knife-throwing, and jousted by herself with immobile armor and imaginary soldiers. She’d built fortresses and towers from the millions and millions of gold coins, finding little pleasure in destroying them.

Regina knew she only had herself to blame for her predicament. She had been stupid enough to think that she could sneak onto Treasure Island and get away with stealing the most precious artefact of the Collector’s collection. Of course she had failed.

And, in return for her thievery, the Collector had imprisoned her inside the cave she had worked so hard to infiltrate. He had forced a necklace around her neck, effectively binding her magic so that any spell cast would only harm and hurt herself. In any other situation, Regina would have thought it a pretty thing - but it burned her skin each time she so much as thought about taking it off, and her random outbursts of frustration caused spells which only hurt her more. There were countless bruises on her body from not only sleeping on the hard gold coins, but also from all the spells which had come back to bite her in the ass.

After an aeon of wandering around, kicking statues and anything she could get at, she curled up in the smoothest spot of coins she could find and fell asleep.

She was roused not long after by a sound which she hadn’t heard in what felt like ages.

Footsteps.

Fear struck her heart when she realised that the footsteps were going down the stairs, and the small clink of coins signalled their arrival on the cave floor.

Regina moved as slowly as she could, so as to not make any noise. She hoped in her heart that whomever was in the cave was not the Collector. She prayed, practically begged the universe to let it be someone else, someone who could let her out of this hellhole.

And then the footsteps ran back to the stairs and she caught a glimpse of blond hair and a slim figure which disappeared up the stairs towards the door. 

Regina had seen the Collector. That was not him. And he didn’t have any servants either, and certainly not any who would go wandering about in his vault.

No, this was a thief.

A thief with a way out.

“Wait, stop!” She yelled, her voice hoarse from lack of use. She scrambled towards the stairs, but before she could even reach the bottom of them, the door had slammed shut. She clambered up the stairs nevertheless, and banged on the door in hopes that the woman would come back and let her out.

“Come back!” She cried, but her words only echoed in the now empty cave. Regina felt a sob break through her chest, and fell onto her knees, her fists resting against the wooden barrier between her and the rest of the world. She wanted to cry, but was too dehydrated to form tears. So instead, she just sobbed, more frustrated than ever.

The door beneath her fists fell away, and she looked up just in time to see a bunch of men barging in before she was practically overrun. They managed to skirt around her, obviously having noticed her but taking no further notice, and Regina was so startled she didn’t even know what to do. She looked down the stairs, watching as the men ran about, gathering what they could in the sacks which they carried in their hands.

_ Thieves _ , she thought to herself. Joy bubbled in her chest - she could finally leave and be free.

“What are you doing here?” 

Regina’s head snapped back around to look at the man standing in the doorway. Her eyes widened when she recognized the black hair and rugged looks, and her expression quickly became a scowl upon seeing the hook on his hand.

“Hook.” She growled. “What are you doing here?”

“Rescuing you, it seems.” The pirate laughed, grabbing her shackles and yanking her up. “Looks like our sweet little Collector bested you.”

Regina fought the urge to knee him in his jewels. “I had a bad day.”

“Of course you did.” Hook chuckled. “Now what could have brought your Majesty to Treasure Island?”

Regina rolled her eyes. “Unlike you and your band of nimwits, I have a life I’d like to get back to in Storybrooke.”

“And you thought the Collector would help?”

“An item in his vault, yes.” Regina sighed. “But he hasn’t got it. I’ve looked everywhere.”

“Well, since you seem to know this cave so well, perhaps you can help me, then.”

“Why should I help you?”

“I’ll take you away from here if you do.” Hook offered. “Although I’m not so sure about the shackles...they add a nice touch, don’t you think, my love?”

Regina was about to snap at him about calling her his love when she realised he wasn’t speaking to her at all. Instead, she saw the same blonde hair and slim figure she’d seen before emerge from behind the man.

_ Emma _ .

Her breath caught in her throat and she was unable to keep the surprise from her face as Emma stepped out from behind Hook. The man grinned and wrapped his arm around the blonde's waist, placing a kiss onto the her lips before turning back to Regina.

Emma studied Regina up and down, but didn’t seem to recognize her. Regina, in turn, could barely recognize the woman; she was wearing tight leather pants, brown boots, and a black leather corset which provided all too much cleavage than what Regina was used to seeing on the blonde. She wore a jacket as well, but it provided little coverage. In essence, it reminded Regina of the clothes she used to wear. She wanted to think they did not suit Emma. They certainly did not suit the idea she had of Emma, of the woman who she had known in Storybrooke.

But she also couldn’t deny that she looked great.

“Who’s she?”

Regina stared at Emma, then at Hook. Having kept all her own memories after being cast to the Enchanted Forest, she had somehow assumed everyone had been the same. Hearing and seeing the lack of recognition in Emma, she began to realise that was not the case.

“She’s nobody, love.” Hook told Emma. He looked at Regina and flashed a smile. “Just some wench.”

From the look in his eyes, Regina knew it was best to not argue. After all, he had a sword and she had nothing.

“Then why won’t you kill her?” Emma’s voice was almost unrecognizable, somehow hollow and yet all too chipper for her. Regina wanted to vomit, but managed to keep her composure as Emma placed a hand on Hook’s chest and rested her head against him.

“Because she’ll help us.” Hook replied. “Won’t you, love?”

“What do you want?”

“A sword.”

“Haven’t you got enough swords?”

“You know which one I’m talking about. The Sword of the Seven Seas.”

Regina sighed. “Go towards that silver armor statue, then turn left and walk to the white marble column. It should be on a golden table.”

Hook leaned in and kissed Emma again, leaving Regina feeling all sorts of disgust and nausea. “Watch her, won’t you babe?”

Emma nodded. There was a smile on her face, which reminded Regina of a goofy idiot. She grumbled to herself and watched as Hook sauntered down the stairs and towards the sword.

“How did you get here?” She asked Emma, who snapped her eyes away from Hook’s disappearing form. The blonde hadn’t seemed to even have noticed Regina, and looked at her in wonder.

There was something inherently wrong with the way she looked. Regina had struggled to place what it was, but now, looking at her eyes, she realised.

They were blue.

Not green.

Blue.

“What do you mean?” She heard Emma ask. She shook her head to clarify her mind, tearing her eyes away from those blue eyes.

“Where’s the Collector?”

“He’s dead.”

“He’s not.”

“He is.”

“He’s immortal.” Regina said. “So long as his treasure remains here, he’ll remain very much alive.”

“He’s dead for the time being.” Emma told her. “Killian took care of it.”

Regina could hear the slight sigh in Emma’s voice, the satisfaction, when she said Hook’s name. She cringed and took a step towards the door. Emma stepped in front of her, raising her eyebrows. 

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Out of this damn cave.”

“No you’re not.”

“Why not?”

“You’re our captive.” Emma said plainly. “And Killian told me to watch you.”

“Well then you can watch me leave.” Regina replied. She managed to get a few steps in until she felt Emma’s hand grab hers. She tried to shake herself free, but found that Emma was not only gripping her hard but also completely frozen. Regina turned around to see Emma gaping at her, those blue eyes wide in surprise.

“R-regina?” She heard the blonde stammer. She looked at her and raised her eyebrows.

“Yes?”

Emma withdrew her hand and closed her mouth. “What--”

Regina looked at where Emma’s hand had been. Their skin had touched. She could still feel the spot where the blonde’s hand had touched hers, the odd tingling sensation refusing to cease.

“Seems you’ve got your memories back.” Regina hummed.

“What--”

“I’ll leave you to try and make sense of this.” Regina said, taking another step towards the door. Emma’s hand grabbed her elbow, roughly again, and she sighed.

“Killian told me to watch you.” 

“And you do as he says?”

“Yes.” Emma said, looking surprised. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because he’s an ass?”

Suddenly there was a knife pressed to her throat. Regina saw the anger in Emma’s eyes, and couldn’t help but be afraid, feeling the blade just inches from her veins.

“Don’t you talk about my husband like that.”

“Husband?”

“Yes.”

“You married  _ him _ ?”

“I _love_ him.”

Regina stared at Emma. There was something wrong. She could feel it in her gut, and hearing Emma say those three words only made the feeling worse.

“And what, you’ve resorted to sailing the Seven Seas with your pirate? What of your parents?”

“He’s not a pirate.” Emma snapped, withdrawing the knife and sliding it in the sheath strapped to her thigh. “He’s the Captain of the Royal Navy.”

To this, Regina couldn’t help but laugh. “He is?”

“A wedding gift from my parents.” Emma said proudly. 

The band of pirates began heading back up the stairs, and soon Hook was back, his arm around Emma’s waist as he stuck his tongue down her throat.

“Come on, love, let’s go celebrate our successful plunder.” He murmured into Emma’s ear. His hook caught onto the chain of Regina’s shackles, and he dragged her along as they climbed up the winding stairs and out into the night.

The fresh air hit Regina like a full-body punch. Seeing the space around her, the ground beneath her feet, the smell of the ocean - it was so much she wanted to cry.

But she was not going to do that. Not when she was being held captive by Captain Guyliner and his idiot Savior wife.


	2. The Dilemma

Once aboard the Jolly Rodger, she was tossed to a corner as the crew set sail. A while later, the rum was brought out, and it did not take long before the entire crew was wasted out of their minds. Regina only yearned for a sip of water and something to satisfy her grumbling stomach, but it seemed that she was all but forgotten.

Hours later she was roused by a gentle touch on her shoulder. She snapped awake to find Emma crouched beside her, a cup of water and a small bowl of stew in her hands.

“Killian figured you’d be hungry.” She smiled gently. Regina frowned and took the cup of water, downing it in one go.

“Thank you.” She mumbled as she took the bowl from Emma.

She expected the blonde to leave, but instead she heard shuffling as she sat down beside her, leaning against the wall. Regina threw her a glance but concentrated on the hot stew before her. She hadn’t had a hot meal in forever, and her mouth watered at the scent emanating from the bowl in her hands.

Emma watched quietly as Regina ate, and only spoke up once she was finished.

“What do you remember?”

Regina shrugged. “What do you mean?”

“Of...the other world.”

"Storybrooke."

"Storybrooke." Emma repeated after Regina, but there seemed to be a certain lack of recognition in her voice.

“I remember the Author. And leaving. Coming here.” Regina told her.

“The Author?” Emma asked, looking confused.

“What do  _ you  _ remember?”

“I remember…” Emma paused. “I’m not sure. I remember I lived there once. I was the Sheriff, I think. And there was a boy…”

“Henry. Your son. Our son.”

“Yes.” Emma said. “And...you were evil?”

Regina couldn’t help fliching. “That was years ago, dear.”

“Then what happened--”

“Ah, there you are!” Hook cried, scooping Emma up in his arms. Regina frowned at the interruption, but refrained from saying anything. “I was beginning to worry that you’d fallen into the sea.”

Emma giggled as he leaned in to kiss her. Regina cringed again and looked away, feeling the pang of jealousy in her heart.

“So sorry, Regina love, but the wife and I have some celebrating to do.” Hook drawled. He grabbed a blanket from a nearby box and tossed it at her. “Here. Make yourself at home.”

And with that, he disappeared into the Captain’s quarters with Emma.

Regina wanted to vomit. She only prayed the walls were thick enough to keep the sounds of their ‘celebrating’ at bay.

They weren’t. All through the night, Regina could hear the thumping and occasional moans and screams, and prayed for every known god and spiritual being that they’d either stop or that she’d go deaf. It was one thing knowing Emma was married to Hook, and another having to hear said marriage being consummated. It made her sick in more ways than one.

 

* * *

 

Over the next few days, Regina spent most of her time alone. Emma was kept busy by Hook, who seemed to be in full control of her. Whatever ‘Killian’ said, Emma did, be it making dinner or scrubbing the decks or joining him in his quarters. Regina would have thought she was under a mind-controlling spell were it not for the fact that Emma still clearly had her own mind. She just seemed like a lovestruck idiot, and having never seen the Savior in love before, she soon opted to stay out of their business and concentrate on getting away.

Hook had promised her that she could leave any time she wished. Being in the middle of the ocean hindered her want to leave, and the next docking was to be in about a day or two depending on the winds. So she had her sweet time.

Of course, she wasn’t on a cruise; she was made to do all sorts of chores, from scrubbing the decks to cleaning the endless supply of dirty dishes and washing the outside of the ship.(which, to her, seemed pointless)

She quickly learned that Emma and Hook had married almost immediately after arriving in the Enchanted Forest, and that Hook had indeed been appointed Captain of the Royal Navy by King David himself. The idiot Charmings were apparently living their lives in their kingdom, where Emma and her ass of a husband visited regularly.

Regina wanted to ask about her eyes. They were sky blue, an appealing yet un-Emma like feature, and they bothered more than she let herself believe. They were concrete evidence that something was wrong, but she had no clue of what it was or how to fix it. In all honesty, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to fix whatever was wrong.

Upon arriving at the port, which had an impossible name and was located in an unknown land, Regina went straight to a blacksmith to get her shackles cut off. It took less than a moment, and once she had paid the man his due diligence(as it had taken a long time to convince him that she wasn’t a runaway convict) she exited his shop.

Upon exiting, she saw Hook. She caught notice because the insufferable blonde wasn’t attached to his hip, and seeing his furtive and certainly suspicious behavior, decided to follow him.

It wasn’t perhaps a bright idea, but she was bored, and wanted to know whatever the hell it was he was up to.

She followed him through crowds of people and down winding streets until he finally came to a stop at a small shop. Regina hid behind a food stand while he was inside, but needed to go no further to know what he was doing. She could feel the magic in the air, emanating from within those red curtains; she could practically taste it. And this was not light magic, either; the intoxicating hum of darkness, unnoticeable for mortals, was all around her.

“Now what would our dear Captain have to do with dark magic?” She murmured to herself.

A while later, Hook emerged, and Regina had just enough time to see him pocket a bottle of bright pink liquid in the folds of his coat before storming off. She stayed there, staring after him, wondering about the bottle for a long while before realising she should get back to the ship before she was left here altogether.

Seeing that bottle had set things in motion which she hadn’t expected. She had expected to see him buying rum or something mundane like that, but knowing he was in possession of a dark potion scared Regina. She was not about to leave Emma in the hands of god knows what. Not until she figured out why her eyes were blue. Not until the discomfort in her stomach was gone.

She made it onto the ship in the nick of time. Hook seemed genuinely displeased that she’d come back, but she only smirked in response to his pained groan.

“I helped you get that sword, it’s only fair you let me tag along to somewhere I actually  _ know _ .”

He only grumbled in response and led Emma back to his quarters with a sneer on his face, as if he knew the anger and jealousy which stirred up inside Regina’s chest each time she saw them together.

Later that night, Regina found herself sneaking into Hook’s bedroom in search of that bottle. She tried her best to remain silent, avoiding creaking floorboards as best she could as she crept along towards the Captain’s quarters.

But when she turned the corner she collided with a slim figure, and they fell over, Regina landing onto her back while the woman landed onto her. A mass of blonde hair covered Regina’s face, and she pushed Emma away from her quickly.

“What the hell?” She asked, gaping at Emma. She kept her voice low, knowing Hook’s quarters were just around the corner.

Emma just stared at Regina with those big blue eyes. “What are you doing?” She whispered back.

“I was--” Regina paused. “I felt nauseous.”

Emma grimaced. “Don’t puke on me.”

“Where’s your precious husband?”

Emma shrugged. “He’s out for a smoke.”

Regina only now noticed the hickeys on Emma’s neck and grimaced at the reminder. She couldn’t possibly hope to sneak into Hook’s quarters now, not with the lovestruck idiot guarding the door like a puppy.

An idea popped up into her head - an idiotic idea, most likely to end in her being chucked off the boat and into the sea by Emma - but she figured it was worth the shot. 

_ To calm my churning gut, _ she assured herself.  _ Just for that _ .

She got up and extended her hand to Emma. “You should sleep.”

As Emma took her hand, Regina summoned all the magic she could and prodded through the blonde’s presence, looking for any signs of a spell or charm. She was sure that by now, Emma could feel the warmth from her hand, but refused to let go even when she heard Emma call her name.

“Regina!”

A flash ran through Regina’s mind, a certain clarity, and the next second Emma’s hand was ripped from hers and she opened her eyes to see blue eyes staring at her furiously.

“What the hell was that?”

Regina feigned sickness and groaned. “I felt dizzy. Sorry.” She turned on her heel and stumbled back to her corner, practically shaking as she pulled the blanket around herself and tried to calm herself.

_ A love charm _ , she thought,  _ that’s what it was. And a strong one, too. _

She felt her heart grow cold as she thought back to how idiotic Emma had been acting. Of course it was a love spell; she should have known that there was no other way Emma would willingly fawn over anyone like she had witnessed her doing. Suddenly everything made sense; her idiocy, the seeming aloofness of her being, even the lack of own will the woman seemed to have, not to mention her hideous, if not aesthetically pleasing outfits which were most likely on her by Hook’s command.

Regina wouldn’t have wanted nothing more than to wring Hook’s neck. Love spells were the darkest of all magic in her book, and she condemned any who dared to use them as the worst of all people. That description fitted Hook all too well.

But now Regina found herself faced with a dilemma. 

What should she do about it?


	3. She's Not Mrs. Jones

The next few days Regina spent feeling positively sick. At first she had thought it was simply sea-sickness, but as the feeling persisted, she began accepting that it’s cause was more mental.

Now, knowing Emma had little to no control over what she was doing, each and every interaction shared between the blonde and Hook made Regina feel as though she was going to throw up. Each kiss, each touch, even just a simple shared glance was dutifully noted and suffered by Regina.

She couldn’t deny herself the fact that she wanted nothing more than to whisk the blonde away from this nightmare. Of course, in her current state, Emma seemed more than happy to stay - but that was an illusion, and the knowledge of that was something only Regina(and Hook) was privy to. She couldn’t bear to think of each passionate night the couple shared, knowing it was practically rape as Emma was in no state to consent. That, most of all, was enough to send her spewing the contents of her stomach overboard.

She tried to reason with herself about the whole thing. After all, she wasn’t even sure whether this wasn’t what Emma wanted; she was happily(if not under false pretences) married, roaming the seven seas with a relatively handsome pirate. Any attempt to destroy this happiness, Regina thought, would be a selfish act.

But she knew she couldn’t let this continue. And so, after three days of sitting and doing nothing but thinking, she decided there was just one thing she could do. She had to save the idiotic Savior from her nightmare.

That turned out to be more challenging than she’d originally thought. Still without her magic, she had little to go on to undo the effects of the spell. She knew the charm required continuing exposure, but after observing Emma over days and days, she came to believe there was no way she was ingesting it through her food. She had tried everything, from swapping Emma’s plates and cups to spilling her drinks and gaining a new nickname: your Clumsiness.

But as none of those who had eaten Emma’s food and drank her drinks unknowingly began declaring their overbearing love for their Captain, Regina began to suspect that it wasn’t anything Emma ingested at all.

So it came that one night they docked in a harbor, and Hook took his crew out for a little spin while ordering Emma to stay behind to guard the ship. Regina decided to stay behind as well, having concocted a new plan right on the spot. She wasn’t so certain it would work, but it was all she could think of. 

She emerged from below decks to find Emma seated before a table, rolling a pair of die mindlessly back and forth.

“Hey.” She said as she slid into the seat in front of Emma.

“Hey.” Emma said. Being away from her pirate made her particularly depressing, Regina decided. It was horrible to look at.

“Missing your  _ husband?” _ Regina asked, trying to be kind and keep the disgust from her voice.

Emma nodded. “I just...I want him here.”

“Here.” Regina placed a bottle of rum on the table before her. “Drink.”

Emma looked up at Regina, who flinched upon seeing those blue eyes. “Why?”

“You miss him. And I don’t want to be the only one drunk.”

“You don’t seem drunk.”

“Not yet.” Regina grinned, taking a long swig from the bottle. It tasted absolutely vile, and it was all she could do to not spit it out.

Emma chuckled and took the bottle, taking a long drink. Regina smiled to herself - it was only a matter of time when the blonde would be properly drunk and open to questions.

As she had planned, about an hour later Emma was giggling and extremely drunk. They had played drinking games, and Regina had tried her best to remain the more sober one in order to be able to execute her plan.

“So, Miss Swan.” She drawled.

“Mrs Jones, actually.” Emma giggled. “I love the sound of it.”

“Emma.” Regina said.  _Hell will freeze over before I call you Mrs. Jones,_ she grumbled in her head.

Emma looked at Regina, looking so innocent and pure Regina would have laughed if she could.

“Does Mr. Jones give you anything special to drink?” She asked, trying to be casual. “You know, for...marital issues?”

Emma blinked. “To drink? No.”

The choice of words led Regina to asking a question which she really did not want to ask nor hear the answer to. “But in other things?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been married a year and yet I see no baby. Having issues, are we?”

“Oh, no. Nothing like that. He’s got a way to avoid that. We’re not...ready.”

“A way?” Regina asked, feigning surprise. “There aren’t any in the Enchanted Forest, aside from infertility potions.”

Emma shrugged. “I guess you’re wrong.”

“How come?”

“I’m not sure I should say. Killian told me not to tell anyone.”

“Please, Emma, just tell me. I promise I won’t tell. Just, one woman to another.”

Emma squirmed in her seat, suddenly blushing. “Well...he’s got this potion.”

“A potion?”

“He puts it on his...you know, before we--”

“Ah. And it works?”

“Yes. I mean, it makes it glow pink but--”

“I see.”

Emma yawned widely. “I wish he’d come back.”

_ I wish he would never come back _ . Regina thought to herself bitterly. But she feigned a smile. “Of course you do, dear.” And then she got up and stumbled downstairs.

She wanted to die. Never in a million years had she wanted to have to have a conversation about sex with the woman she had feelings for. Not when she wasn’t the other party in said sex.

Regina had known for quite a while that she was incredibly attracted to Emma. Having thought there was no chance, she had buried those feelings, but over the years their relationship had grown warmer and she had begun to unearth those long-lost thoughts. Being buried didn't mean she didn't suffer for them; Regina had spent many a night tossing around in her bed, groaning about a particularly cute thing the insufferable Sheriff had done or dreaming about the life they could share were things different. And many a time, she had been moaning about Emma, too - in the most pleasurable of ways.

But then they were sent to the Enchanted Forest and now she was stuck on a boat with Emma who seemed to have forgotten the better part of their friendship and who was magically in love and fucking Killian Jones.

She wanted to die.

But instead, she turned to her side and willed herself to sleep, deciding she would come up with a way to get Emma away from Hook. She had to.

Emma was not Mrs. Jones.

She would never, in a million years, be Mrs. Jones.

She would always be Miss Swan to her.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Regina woke with the worst hangover of her life. Her head was thudding, and were it not for the fact that she’d forgotten to eat the day before, she would have been throwing up all over the place. Instead, she pulled the blanket over her head and tried to go back to sleep.

Tried being the key word, because in the next instant, she felt a hand on her knee and the blanket being moved from her face.

“Regina?” 

Regina groaned as she opened one eye to look at the blonde. Emma smiled gently and offered her a goblet, containing a green fizzing drink. “For your hangover.”

“How did you kn-” Regina croaked, but was interrupted when Emma practically shoved the cup to her lips. She scowled but drank it anyway, grimacing at it’s foul taste.

“That’s disgusting.” She spat once she was done.

“But it works.” Emma promised.

“Why do you care?”

“We’re docking at my parent’s city in a few hours. Thought you might want to not be hungover when you set off.”

Regina stared as Emma stood and left her there. She hadn’t realised they were so close to home, and now, realising she only had a few hours to come up with a plan to rescue Emma, she panicked.

They were received by the Charmings with a warm welcome, and Regina was pleased to find that for the duration of their stay, the ship’s crew as well as herself were welcome to stay in the castle. Snow seemed glad enough to find Regina wasn’t dead, and offered her any help she should need if she chose to leave in search for her own life.

A party was thrown for the Princess and her husband that night, but Regina opted to not go. She had a lot to do if she intended on saving Emma.

She knew she wouldn’t be able to take the Princess willingly, and so she gathered all that she thought would be enough to restrain her - a magic-limiting cuff, rope, poppy powder and a gag(just in case). She also prepared a horse, loading the bags full of food and blankets and other supplies she knew they’d need on the road. She had thought about taking two horses, but that proved to be too slow for her needs - after all, she did intend on kidnapping the Princess.

Her plan was simple enough. She was going to keep Emma away from Hook and his ‘magical’ cock for as long as it took for her mind to clear and for her to realise that she didn’t truly love him.

Or, at least, to realise that she had been under a spell. After all, Regina couldn’t be sure whether or not the blonde actually loved Hook underneath the facade of magic.

She knew she couldn’t ask Emma’s parents about it - they seemed genuinely in love with Hook and their daughter’s marriage, and the last person they would have listened to was Regina. Most likely they would have accused her of wanting to ruin Emma's happiness and ignored her anyway.

So instead, she decided to take matters into her own hands.


	4. Saving the Savior

Regina was just walking through the gardens, headed back to her room to plan for the actual kidnapping of Emma, when she practically ran into the blonde herself. Emma stumbled and ran into a wall, dropping to the ground in a fit of giggles. Regina just stared, dumbfounded, at Emma; she was wearing the most uncharacteristic dress of all time, and it made her feel a multitude of things. The dress was pink and lacy and extremely revealing, the neckline just barely covering her ample bosom and the waist tightened so small Regina thought she could reach her hands around it. It was all she could do to not make a snarky comment about it, or laugh at the blonde who looked so idiotic in her current state.

“Gina!” Emma cried from the ground. “C’mere!” She was quite obviously drunk, and Regina quickly realised there was no better moment to do what she intended. She walked over to Emma and crouched before her, offering her a small, apologetic smile.

“I’m so sorry, Emma.” She whispered as she blew the powder into Emma’s face, effectively knocking the woman out in less than a second. The blonde fell forward, and was caught by Regina, who grunted as she hoisted Emma’s slim body onto her shoulder. She stood up, surprised how tiny and light Emma actually was, and was struck by the awareness of what she was actually doing.

“Am I really stealing the Princess?” She grumbled to herself as she made her way to the stables. It was all too easy to be true, and yet there she was, carrying an unconscious idiot towards a horse and all the provisions they could possibly need.

She opted to place Emma into the saddle in front of her, letting her rest against the horse’s neck as she hoisted herself to sit behind the blonde. She was all too aware of how close Emma was, and bit her tongue to force her thoughts away from the fluttering feeling in her stomach caused by Emma’s backside pressing against her front. 

They rode out into the night, and Regina rode through the garden to the back gate, where she knew there would be no guards to speak of. Having tossed a rag over Emma’s sleeping body, she was able to pass through without any trouble. Once out of sight, she pushed the horse to a faster trot, intent on getting as far away from the castle as she could while Emma was still asleep.

She rode on for about two hours until she noticed Emma stirring in her sleep and decided it was high time to ensure the blonde was cooperative. She stopped at a stream, lifting Emma off of the horse with ease and laying her to rest against a tree as she got the rope. She contemplated which side of her body to tie the slender hands together on, and finally chose her back, despite knowing it would be more uncomfortable for Emma. But she also knew that it’d be significantly harder to run away with one’s hands behind their back.

As she was tying Emma’s hands with the rope, she noticed an ugly scrape on the blonde’s forehead from where she’d collided with the wall. She grumbled to herself, ,cursing the blonde’s clumsiness, but decided to go over to the stream and wet a cloth to clean the wound anyway.

When she came back, she was met with blue eyes full of anger and confusion.

“What the fuck?” Emma practically yelled, trying to get up and failing. Regina pushed her back against the tree, trying to be gentle, and scowled. “Shush.” She dabbed the cool cloth against Emma’s forehead, who winced as the water touched the cut and tried to move away. Regina caught her by the shoulder and kept her in place until the wound was clean enough, ignoring the blonde's glares and questions.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Emma persisted. “Why am I tied up?”

“So you wouldn’t run.” Regina told her plainly. “Thirsty?”

Emma shook her head angrily. “Take me back. Now.”

Regina chuckled. “No.”

“Regina--”

“No.”

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“I am saving you.” Regina muttered as she grabbed Emma by the waist and promptly lifted the blonde onto her shoulder. It took a lot of her strength, but she was determined to not let Emma go. Emma shrieked as she was lifted up, and began kicking the air as the woman walked over to the horse.

“Let me down!” 

Regina set Emma down on her feet and glared at her.

“Now be a good little Princess and behave.”

“Or what?” Emma spat. Regina chuckled as she noticed how angry the blonde was - she was practically seething. It was awfully amusing.

“Or I’ll have to take extreme measures.”

Emma glared at her. “And what would those be?”

Regina was almost pleased that Emma had asked that. She pulled out a scarf from her back pocket and, before the blonde could react, placed her into her mouth and tied it behind her head, effectively gagging her and silencing her complaints.

“I’m sorry.” She chuckled as Emma continued to glare at her, an embarrassed blush emerging on her cheeks as she tried to speak but only muffled words came out. “Will you behave now?”

Emma saw no other choice but to obey, and nodded quietly. When Regina climbed into the saddle behind her, she inhaled sharply and felt a strange flutter in her stomach when the woman’s arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. She tried to squirm away from Regina, from those strange feelings, but to no avail - Regina only held her tighter and pulled her closer.

“Now, Princess, do behave. I’d hate for you to fall off this horse and hurt yourself.” Regina murmured into Emma’s ear as they rode off again. Emma made a whining noise in protest, and although it was mostly muffled by the scarf in her mouth, Regina still heard and chuckled quietly to herself.

 

* * *

They rode through the night and into the morning. Emma had fallen asleep soon after they’d set off, most likely due to the combined effects of the alcohol she’d ingested as well as the knock-out powder. Regina had stayed awake, listening to Emma’s breathing, secretly enjoying the feeling of having Emma pressed up against herself. She had to hold the blonde up with one hand, as her hands were still tied behind her back, but that did not bother her at all. The feel of the blonde's tiny waist beneath her fingers felt oddly right, and for a long while she wondered what it would be like to be embracing Emma fully.

Regina knew of one hiding place where they could stay for a few days without being noticed. It was a cave, a days’ ride from the castle, but ridden with remains of magic from when a serpent had lived there. The remnants of that magic, she figured, should be enough to ward off any seekers for at least a day or two.

They came to the cave around midday. Emma had woken once, and had almost caused the horse to panic with her relentless thrashing around as she tried to run away. Regina had just held on tight and finally managed to calm her down, but she knew that the instant Emma’s feet hit the ground she’d be running again.

Sure enough, Emma did try to run, the key word here being  _ try _ . She ran for about ten feet before stumbling on her feet and the hem of her dress and falling over, causing Regina to erupt into laughter. She didn’t mean to, but it was just all too funny.

Emma grumbled to herself, feeling the pain from landing square on her face, and turned to her back to throw Regina an angry glare. Had she been able to speak, she would have been spewing out a variety of curses.

“I’m sorry, that’s just--that was funny.” Regina snickered as she walked over and helped Emma up. “But you shouldn’t run.”

_ If I did, what would you do? _ Emma seemed to ask.

“This is for your best, trust me.” Regina told her as she led her into the cave. Emma quivered upon seeing the cave - it was dark and damp and ugly and she could feel the dark magic that still clung to the place. But Regina’s hand on her shoulder was persistent, and so she was forced to follow the woman whom she was quickly growing to hate more than anything.

All Emma wanted was to get back to Killian. She couldn’t understand it, couldn’t explain it, but she had to get back to him. Being away from him made her sick. But it made sense.

After all, she was in love with him.

Regina sat her down on a rock, and Emma watched quietly as Regina unpacked, pulling out two bedrolls and a variety of blankets as well as food. The brunette glanced over just in time to notice the hungry glimmer in the blonde’s eyes, and went over to pull the gag out of her mouth. She left the scarf around Emma’s neck, knowing she would need it later.

“Fuck you.” Emma spat the instant she could.

“What kind of behavior is that for a princess?” Regina wondered aloud as she pulled Emma over to the blankets, knowing they were far more comfortable to sit on than a cold rock. “Hungry?”

Emma didn’t want to admit that she was, and so she shook her head. Regina tutted. “Your loss.” She took out a loaf of bread and sunk her teeth into it, eyeing Emma carefully as she did. When she saw that the blonde was practically drooling, she grumbled and went over.

“I’m going to undo your ropes so that you can eat, but don’t try anything.”

Emma glared at her, but allowed Regina to untie the ropes around her wrists. She then grabbed a loaf of bread and practically inhaled it. Regina laughed, having forgotten Emma’s endless pit of a stomach.

When Emma decided she’d had enough, she tried to run away again. She bolted up suddenly, scattering towards the end of the cave. She thought she’d already gotten away when she felt herself being tackled by Regina. They landed onto the cave floor in one mess of arms and legs, but Emma soon found herself on her back with Regina sitting on her stomach with both her thighs on either side of Emma’s waist. The woman’s hands were pinning down her own, and Emma paled as she realised there was no escape.

“Stop fighting me, Emma.” Regina groaned as she tried to keep Emma still.

“Why should I? You kidnapped me.”

“I’m saving you.”

“From what?”

“From Hook!”

Emma blinked and stared. “From...Killian?”

“Yes, Hook, the idiot who you’ve gone and married.”

“I love him. You have no right-”

“He’s got you under a spell.”

Emma shook her head. “No he hasn’t.”

“Then tell me, Princess, why does he cover his cock in a pink liquid each time  you two make sweet sweet love?” Regina snarled, leaning in close to glare into those blue eyes. “You should know by now that only love potions are pink.”

Emma glared at her. “You--”

“I know you’re currently incapable of thinking clearly, but still - never pegged you for  _ this _ big of an idiot.”

“Killian’s going to find me.” Emma hissed. “Killian’s going to kill you.”

“Do you even hear yourself?” Regina snapped. “Killian this, Killian that….it’s disgusting.”

“That’s because it’s love. Like you’d know anything about it.”

“I may not know much about love, dear, but I do know magic. And you’ve been dosed with plenty of dark, dark magic.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Of course you don’t.” Regina sighed. “But, thankfully, I don’t have to listen to your complaints.” She released one hand and quickly placed the gag back in Emma’s mouth, soliciting an angry, muffled cry from the blonde. Then she turned Emma over in one smooth motion, and before long Emma’s hands were tied again.

“I wish I didn’t have to do this, dear.” Regina said, trying to sound sincere. She couldn’t deny the satisfaction she got from finally having actual control over the insufferable Sheriff, but she hated the reason she was doing it. “But, trust me, once your head is all cleared up, I’ll let you go. Perhaps you actually love your Killian, underneath all the magic.”

Emma simply glared. Regina was sure she was plotting her murder inside that pretty little head, and chuckled at the thought. “Don’t glare too hard, dear, you’ll get wrinkles.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon on the opposite sides of the cave. Emma was either napping or glaring at Regina, and Regina was doing all she could to not stare at Emma for other reasons. The dress she was wearing, albeit disgustingly feminine and lacy, did put Emma on display in ways Regina had never seen her before. And, although she tried her best not to, she could not avoid sneaking glances at the blonde who wanted her dead.

After a few more runaway attempts, Emma seemed to have calmed down enough for Regina to take the gag off. She offered the blonde a drink, which she took, although she still refused to speak to her.

By nightfall, Regina found she still wasn’t bored. Having spent over a hundred days cooped up in a cave had had it’s benefits, she decided, as she leaned against the wall and watched Emma sleep. She had known to expect the wait to be long and boring - after all, the potion had been in effect for at least a year. 

In the middle of the night, she snapped awake to a loud gasp from Emma’s direction. Surprised and annoyed that she’d fallen asleep, she was glad to find that Emma hadn’t taken that chance to run away. She looked over and saw that the blonde was sitting up, looking straight at her. The fire beside them provided little light, but as Regina moved closer, she felt her breath catch in her throat.

Emma’s eyes were green.

“Regina?” Emma’s voice was weak, afraid, and small - like that of a lost child.

“Yes, Emma?”

“Where am I?” Emma asked. “Why are my hands tied?”

“Do you not remember?” 

Emma shook her head.

“What is the last thing you remember?” 

“We came to the Enchanted Forest...and I-- Hook, we--” Emma stammered, a groan interrupting her words. “My head hurts.”

“Don’t think too hard.” Regina quipped before she could stop herself.

“Where am I? Are we in trouble?”

Regina shook her head. “Not exactly.”

"Why aren't you tied?"

"I--well,-" Regina stammered. "I'm holding you captive."

"Why?"

“Answer one question first.”

Emma just stared, so Regina sighed and continued.

“Do you love Hook?”

“Love him?” Emma gasped. “I-no. I barely know him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I don’t know what you’re talking about--” Emma groaned again, and when she opened her eyes Regina saw a pink glow in them. The glow subsided, leaving in its wake those sky blue eyes, and in an instant she knew that the potion was still working.

“Bitch.” Emma grumbled as she laid back down and went back to sleep.

Regina was left there, staring into the darkness, wondering just what had just happened. After a while, she went back to her spot and added wood to the fire, determined to not let herself fall asleep again.


	5. For the Millionth Time, No

The next morning Regina prayed Emma’s eyes would be green again, but to her disappointment, the angry blue was back again. They spent the day like they had spent the last, glaring and not speaking to one another, with Emma attempting to escape almost like clockwork. Around midday, however, Regina noticed Emma becoming extremely lethargic, and expected the blonde to flop down and fall asleep again. Instead, Emma suddenly inhaled sharply, and the green eyes were back again.

“Regina.”

“Emma.”

“I--”

“Welcome back.” Regina said dryly. 

“Why am I tied up?”

“So you won’t run.”

“Why would I run?”

“Because, dear, you’re heavily charmed.”

“No I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. This is just one of your more...lucid moments.”

“What do you mean? I--”

“We spoke last night - remember?”

Emma shook her head, and so Regina gave her a quick recap.

“We spoke last night.”

“Yes we did.”

“And you asked if I loved Hook?”

“Yes I did.”

“Why?”

“Because, Miss Swan, in the year which you seem to not remember, you went and became a Mrs. Jones.” She paused to watch as Emma’s features paled, and the next second, Emma’s hand darted to the ring on her left ring finger and ripped it off.

“No.” She whimpered, tossing the ring off to the side. “You’re lying.”

“I’m afraid it’s true.” Regina sighed. “Your superpower should tell you that I’m telling the truth.”

“I married Hook?”

“If it’s any consolation, you were under a love spell.”

“A love spell?” Emma gasped. Her green eyes turned dark as anger filled her entire being, and for a moment Regina feared the blue had returned. “I’m going to kill him.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Emma then groaned. “Can’t you let me go? My hands hurt.”

“No.”

“Please? It’s killing me.”

“You’ll revert back to your even more insufferable self in moments. I’m not in the mood for chasing you around.”

Emma bit her lip and thought for a second. “Why--” but then she groaned and her eyes turned blue again and they both fell silent.

“Great,” Regina muttered, “I’m stuck with the bitchiest bitch in existence.”

“You’re not so great either.” Emma quipped from her side of the cave.

 

* * *

 

“Won’t you let me go?” Emma begged for the millionth time. “Please?”

Regina rolled her eyes, also for the millionth time. “No.”

“You’re a bitch.”

“And you’re annoying.”

“Fuck off.”

“I would if I could, but I’ve committed to getting you sane and I’m not one to give up on my commitments.” Regina drawled. It was raining. It had been raining ever since midday, and it was now the next morning. Emma had been her insufferable self, and admittedly, Regina was starting to miss the green eyes.

She had tried to reason with Emma that she should change her clothes - the pink fancy dress wasn’t exactly warm - but hadn’t been able to trust the blonde enough to agree to turn her back as Emma changed her clothes. Emma then had refused to change while Regina looked, and so instead Regina had piled all the blankets atop the blonde.

Which left her shivering in the damp cave.

“Regina?”

Regina turned to look at Emma and sighed in relief when she saw her eyes were green. “Oh, thank god, I was beginning to think you’d never show up.”

Emma’s face twisted in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Do you remember our last talk?”

Emma blinked. “I’m under a spell, right?”

Regina nodded. “Good. Now let’s get you changed.”

“What?”

“Clothes. You very well can’t keep wearing...that.” She said, gesturing towards Emma’s now tattered and dirty dress. Emma looked down at herself and shrieked in disgust.

“What the fuck am I wearing?” She cried. 

“Ask your beloved husband.” Regina replied, flashing a sarcastic smile. She walked over, a pile of clothes in hand, and placed them in front of her. “I’m going to untie you, but I’m not going to let you out of my sight. Got it?”

Emma blushed slightly at the thought of Regina seeing her change. “Fine.”

“It’s for your own good, trust me.” Regina repeated for the millionth time. “If the spell comes back and you run off, you’ll be back on Hook’s cock in no-”

“Regina!”

“What?”

“Don’t...talk about that. I don’t want to even think-” Emma stammered, shuddering at the thought. Regina chuckled as she untied the ropes at Emma’s wrists. The blonde took a while to rub her wrists, returning the blood to her hands, before she rummaged through the pile of clothes. “Fair enough.”

She stood and tried to take the dress off, only to find that the corset was far too tight for her to unlace on her own.

“Um...a little help?” She asked, her face red as a tomato. Regina nodded and walked behind her, unlacing the corset as fast as she could. Emma couldn't help but wonder how she managed to do it so quickly and gently, but decided it was best not to ask.

Regina looked a little ways off as Emma slipped the dress off, but was unable to keep her eyes off of her completely. She blushed violently when she noticed that the blonde wore lacy underwear and thigh-high socks held up by garters underneath the dress, and had to fight to keep her growing arousal at bay. 

But soon after, Emma was fully clothed again, clad in tight brown pants, a plain white shirt and a green wool cape. It was odd-looking, but it was also extremely warm. Regina had even thought to grab a pair of boots for her, and although they were a little too big they were far better than the dainty little heels she’d been wearing until now.

She sighed in disappointment when Regina came back around and took her hands behind her back to tie them.

“I’m sorry, Emma.” She told the blonde, meaning it wholeheartedly. 

“Can’t you at least tie them in front? It’s hard to be comfortable when my arms are aching behind my back.”

Regina paused and thought for a moment. “Fair enough.” She took Emma by the shoulders and turned her around, and Emma watched quietly as Regina wound the rope around her wrists, the touch all too gentle for what she had expected. 

“You good?” Regina asked quietly, eyeing Emma. “Doesn’t hurt?”

Emma shook her head. “It’s fine.”

Regina then looked around the cave. “We need to leave tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“I can’t risk being caught.” Regina told her. “More precisely,  _ you _ can’t risk getting caught.”

“How come?”

“I kidnapped the Princess, remember?”

Emma fell silent as she realized this. “Why did you kidnap me?”

“Well that’s a stupid question.” Regina scoffed.

The blonde shook her head. “I meant like...I know why I’m away from Hook. But why you? Why did you bother?”

“Because no one else even noticed.”

“Really?”

“I guess your idiot parents are just that. Idiots.”

Emma chewed her lip and looked pensive. “But why did you bother?”

“Seeing you with Hook made me sick.” Regina decided. She knew Emma would know the instant she lied anyway.

Emma wanted to ask why it made Regina sick, but in all honesty, her mind was already muddled enough. Memories were flooding back to her - memories of the past year, of Hook, of the ship, of all the things she’d done - and she suddenly wanted to vomit. She bolted to the mouth of the cave, and heard Regina follow her, but had no time to stop before she felt her stomach’s contents come up.

Regina had thought Emma was running away, but sighed in relief when she saw the blonde stop just a few feet from the mouth of the cave and throw up.

“You okay?” She asked warily. “You’re not sick, are you?”

Emma shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Just...disgusted.”

“So you remember?”

“Parts.” Emma grimaced with a shudder. “I am literally going to kill him.”

“All in time, my dear.”

Emma quivered slightly when she heard herself being referred to as such, and looked at Regina in surprise. The woman’s brown eyes were full of an emotion which she couldn’t quite place, all she could tell were that they were warm - and comforting.

“Let’s go inside.” Regina said gently, taking Emma by the arm and leading her in. Her other hand rested on the small of Emma’s back, spreading a warmth through the blonde which she hadn’t known to expect.

Even in that short amount of time outside, Emma had been drenched, and Regina added a whole pile of wood into the fire to ensure she didn’t get cold. She also gave Emma all the blankets, insisting that she was fine and not cold at all herself despite having been in the rain as well. But when Emma saw the brunette shivering across the cave, her expressions softened and she padded over to where Regina was curled up and plopped down next to her. She tried to use her bound hands to throw the blanket around Regina’s shoulders as well, but failed miserably and instead managed to slap the corner of the blanket right onto Regina’s face.

“What are you doing?”

“Sharing.” Emma stated plainly.

“You do realize that the instant your lucidity passes you’ll want to kill me, right?”

“I do.” Emma sighed, resting her head against Regina’s shoulder. “But you’re cold and I’ll be damned if I let you get sick because of me.”

Regina stared at Emma for a long while before finally taking the blankets and wrapping them around them both. “Fair enough.”

Emma didn’t want to admit that being close to Regina felt good, not aloud and certainly not to herself. But, as she felt the woman shift so that Emma could rest even more comfortably, she felt her heart jump and all of a sudden her stomach was aflutter with a feeling she recognized all too well. She sighed contently and snuggled in closer, wrapping her arms around Regina’s arm(to stay warm, not for any other reason) and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Good Morning

The next morning, Regina woke up to a punch to the face. She fell a bit backwards from sheer surprise, and heard Emma scrambling up and away from her. Before she could think, she grabbed Emma’s arm and pulled her back down, only now opening her eyes to confirm what she already knew - the blue eyes were back again.

“Damnit.” She muttered under her breath as she saw the seething anger in Emma’s eyes. Her jaw was throbbing in pain, and she raised a hand to rub at it.

“Let me go.” Emma hissed, trying to squirm away. “Killian needs me.”

Regina groaned. “No, he doesn’t.”

“I need him.”

“You _certainly_ do not.”

“How do you know? You’ve never been in love. You’re just bitter and want me to be as miserable as you are.”

 _“_ Is that why you think I kidnapped you?” Regina asked, genuinely surprised. “I thought you were smart enough to come up with a better reason.”

“You’re calling me stupid?” Emma seethed. “Let. Me. Go.”

_I would if I could._

“Not a chance, Princess.” Regina muttered. Her grip of Emma’s arm was still tight, and she knew there’d be bruises on her dainty skin come nightfall. But she was not about to let Emma go, because she knew that the blundering idiot would try to run and probably harm herself in the process.

She glanced outside and saw that the rain had ceased - the world outside was just awaking, the sun just above the horizon, its rays streaming lazily over the dewy landscape beyond their little cave. The horse, who had spent the night inside, had walked outside as far as his leash would allow, and was grazing on the grass just outside.

“Stay here.” She grumbled to Emma as she got up and gathered their things. Emma did as told, although she was shooting murderous scowls at Regina as she went about the cave gathering up. She covered the fire-pit she’d built, hiding it from plain sight so to ensure no one who came in knew there’d been someone the night before.

When the horse was all ready to go, Regina asked Emma to follow. The blonde refused to listen, and so Regina walked over and dragged her to the horse by her arm.

“Ow!” Emma complained. “Don’t be so rough.”

“If you’d listen, I wouldn’t have to be so rough.” Regina retaliated. “Want to get on by yourself or would you rather me throw you?”

Emma grumbled, but allowed Regina to help her into the saddle nonetheless. Unlike before, Regina opted to ride in front of Emma, sliding under her tied arms so that the blonde was technically tied to herself.

“This way, you can’t jump off.” She told to Emma, who only rolled her eyes and muttered curses.

About three hours into the ride Regina felt Emma’s body tense behind her, and glanced over to see green eyes staring into hers.

“Hi.” She said, suddenly aware of the proximity they shared. Her face was a breath away from the blonde’s, who seemed to be at a loss for words.

“Where are we going?”

“Away.”

“Why?”

“We don’t want to get caught, remember?” Regina said. “Or do you want to go back to your dear beloved husband?”

Emma wanted to swat Regina, but without her hands she opted for the second best option and butted her head against the brunettes shoulder. “Shut up.”

Regina couldn’t help the laughter that erupted from her mouth. “You’re ridiculous.”

Emma fell silent, her chin still resting on Regina’s shoulder. Regina was acutely aware of this, especially of Emma’s hot breath tickling her neck. She could feel the vibrations in Emma’s throat as the blonde cleared her throat and spoke again.

“I guess I should be thanking you.”

“I guess you should.”

“Although you’ve got me tied up and I believe what’s around my neck is a gag, so--”

“I’m sorry, charmed Emma isn’t exactly a well-behaved Princess.” Regina interjected. “I do what I have to.”

“So you gag me?”

“What? You can get annoying.” Regina taunted. “I should have started doing that years ago.”

She heard Emma huff, and felt herself trembling slightly at the thought of gagging Emma for other reasons.

 _Not appropriate,_ she snapped at herself, _not now._

“You okay?” She heard Emma ask.

“Of course.”

Emma sighed and turned her head, her lips grazing Regina’s neck and causing the woman to jump. This startled Emma, who drew away quickly, only to find that she could not get far due to the fact that her arms were tied around Regina.

“What was that?” She asked.

Regina shrugged. “Nothing. It’s fine. I just...my neck is a little sensitive.”

“Really now?” Emma drew out the words, knowing exactly what she wanted to do with this information. She longed to press her lips onto Regina’s neck, to feel the woman quiver under her touch, to look into those brown eyes and see--

She didn’t know how that phrase ended. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

So instead, she just rested her head back onto Regina’s shoulder, making sure to avoid even so much as grazing her neck.

She fell asleep soon enough, and when she awoke, she was no longer herself. That self of her hated having Regina against her, hated any reminder of the fact that she wasn’t with Killian, the man who made her feel so whole. She felt anxious to say the least, as though the world were falling apart.

Had Regina known this, she would have told her she was experiencing severe withdrawal. But instead they remained silent, Emma grumbling curses to herself while Regina rode them on into the distance.

She wasn’t so sure where they were going or where they’d come, but by nightfall they found themselves in a clearing in the woods by a small pond. Regina tied Emma to a tree to allow herself some time to go gather firewood and such. When she came back, she found the blonde slumped against the tree, her knees drawn up to her chest, fast asleep.

She smiled gently and set the firewood down, deciding this was an opportune moment to take a quick dip in the pond. She hadn’t bathed since the palace, and her body odor was starting to catch up. Without magical cleansing spells, she found traveling far more gruelling and uncomfortable.

She slipped out of her shirt with ease, fumbling a little with the corset underneath before unlacing her pants and pulling them off. The cool night air ran over her skin, but she found she wasn’t cold.

Had she turned her head, she would have seen that Emma had awoken and was staring at her with her green eyes wide. The brunette pulled her hair up into a messy bun, exposing her neck and back even more, and it was all Emma could do to not voice her pleasure. The woman’s back was toned and beautiful, and the curve of her body was practically perfect - Emma simply could not look away. But Regina didn’t notice this, and instead walked slowly to the pond and lowered herself in, breathing sharply as the cold water gushed at her naked skin. It was only when she returned from the water, her skin glistening wet in the firelight, that she saw Emma - and smiled. The blonde noticed her smile, and looked away, unable to control the embarrassed redness that spread across her cheeks.

She didn’t dare to look back until she was certain Regina was fully clothed.

“Why am I tied to a tree?” She asked, trying to break the tension. She hated the knowing smirk which seemed to play on Regina’s lips. “Did I do something especially bad?”

Regina laughed. “No, dear. I just needed to make sure you’d stay put.”

“Can I be released now?”

“I think I’m starting to like this arrangement.”

“Please, Regina, I need to pee.”

“Fi-ine.” Regina groaned. She came over and untied Emma. “Go, be free.” She joked, and Emma laughed half-heartedly as she headed over to the edge of the clearing to do her business.

“But not too far, just in case the bitchy you comes back!” Regina calls back.

“When will the bitchy you go away?” Emma retaliated, but Regina knew it was only a joke.

“This shit’s fucking hard.” She heard Emma grumble, and realised the blonde was most likely having trouble with her pants considering her hands were tied.

“Sorry, dear, can’t untie your hands no matter how hard it may be for you to get your pants off. My jaw still hurts from the last punch you threw.” Regina quipped.

Emma’s head popped up from behind the bush, and she watched as the blonde hopped around a little bit to get her pants into the right place before walking over rather quickly.

“I punched you?” Emma asked, genuine concern in her voice.

“Yes. Hell of a way to say good morning.” Regina whined jokingly, not noticing the pained look that passed over the blonde’s face when she heard that. She was looking at the fire, and jumped when she felt slender fingers touch her jaw where a bruise was already forming. She turned her head slightly to see Emma looking at her with a strange look in her eyes.

“I’m sorry I hit you.” Emma apologized, her voice just a breath louder than a whisper. Regina forgot to breathe as Emma’s fingers ran along her jaw, and for a fleeting moment she imagined pulling the blonde in to meet her lips.

“It’s alright.” She mumbled. Emma was kneeling before her, her bound hands hovering along her jaw, her beautiful face just inches away from hers. She could practically feel Emma’s breath against her skin, and it was driving her mad.

Emma wondered what it would like to kiss Regina. She looked at the woman’s lips, not even noticing that she wet her own with her tongue, and felt her stomach churn with the want and need to kiss the woman before her. But then her eyes found the bruise on Regina’s jaw, and she leaned in carefully, pressing her lips gingerly where her fist had collided just that morning. Regina inhaled sharply, but did not move away - her hand came to touch Emma’s elbow gently, and then Emma drew away just an inch to look into Regina’s eyes.

Brown met green, and both of them smiled. Emma leaned in again, this time touching her lips to Regina’s, and was pulled in by Regina. Their mouths met and moved with one another, tasting one another, lips and tongues meeting in the most intimate of ways.

Emma withdrew quickly, and Regina opened her eyes to see blue instead of green. Her heart sank, and she half expected Emma to hit her again. Instead, the blonde just scowled and scrambled up, making a point to move as far away as she dared before Regina piped up and told her to stop.

“Or what, you’ll kiss me again?” Emma spat in response, her voice seething with anger and hatred. Regina’s heart crumbled upon hearing those words, despite knowing it was not the same Emma speaking with whom she had shared intimate moment. She still flinched and remained silent, forcing herself to keep her eyes on the blonde despite the pain the hate in her eyes caused her.

That night, she tied Emma to the tree to ensure she wouldn’t escape, and curled up nearby, just close enough to hear if she tried to leave but far enough that she wouldn’t notice her trembling as sobs shook her body. She knew she had no real reason to be upset, and yet, the tears fell and the sobs broke through like a whirlwind, leaving her exhausted and just about unable to think about anything other than the fact that she wanted nothing more than for Emma to be hers.


	7. Neck Kisses and Inappropriate Thoughts

Regina spent the entirety of the next day practically holding her breath, waiting to see the blue eyes turn over to green. She didn’t know what to think of the kiss, or whether she was allowed to think anything at all - she wasn’t even sure Emma remembered the kiss, or whether she’d just imagined it in her delusional, exhausted state of mind.

The sun was setting above the horizon as they rode on. She had set her eyes on a hill in the distance, deciding they’d camp there for the night. It was at least another hour’s ride ahead, and she thought Emma was sleeping behind her.

Regina felt the blonde stir in her sleep, and suddenly felt hot, warm lips on her neck and gasped. She felt the low hum of a chuckle as Emma laughed quietly, and turned her head to see green eyes boring into hers.

“Took you long enough.” She muttered, unable to keep the smile from her face.

“To what?” Emma asked. “To kiss your neck?”

“To come back.” Regina sighed.

“I’m sorry I can’t control it.”

“I know you can’t.”

It seemed that with each lucid moment, the duration grew longer and their frequency increased. Regina knew that was a good sign, and imagined it wouldn’t be long before Emma spent most of her time lucid, with only moments of what Regina had grown to call insanity. And, before long, the blue eyes would only be a memory.

“Regina?”

She snapped back from her thoughts, realizing she hadn’t heard the question Emma had just asked.

“Sorry?”

“I asked if you wanted to talk. Clearly not.”

“No, I was just thinking.” Regina said. “I don’t mind talking.”

“Good.”

“Anything in particular you wanted to talk about?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well that’s great.”

Emma was quiet for a long while. “Where’s Henry?”

Regina felt her stomach churn as she recalled her son. Not a day passed that she didn’t think about him, and in the boredom of the last few days she’d spent hours worrying and wondering about him. “He’s not here." She took a deep breath to steady herself. "He's in Storybrooke. I haven’t been able to find a way to him."

She couldn’t recall why Emma hadn’t joined her on her quest to find their son. Now, realizing it was probably around that time that Emma had been seduced by the One-Handed Wonder, she figured Emma wouldn’t have been able to come even if she had wanted to.

Emma trembled slightly and Regina turned her head to look at her in question.

“What is it?”

“I--” Emma gasped, tears brimming up in her eyes. She buried her face into Regina’s shoulder and tried her hardest to not cry, but a few painful sobs broke through, shaking her entire body. Regina wanted to comfort the blonde, to wrap her arms around that slender figure and hold her close. But, as they were on a moving horse, she simply leaned her head against Emma’s and waited for the sobs to subside.

“What’s wrong?” She then asked quietly.

Emma sniffled and wiped her eyes onto Regina’s shoulder. “I forgot about Henry.” She whispered, disbelief evident in her voice. “I--I didn’t even think about him, the entire year. I can’t--”

“You were enchanted. It wasn’t your fault.” Regina tried telling her.

“But I forgot about him!” Emma cried. “I forgot about my own son!”

"It's alright." Regina repeated.

"Is he okay?" 

"Yes, he is."

"How do you know?"

"I asked Rumplestiltskin to show me where he was. He's stuck in a time loop, Emma - for him, every day is the day after everyone in town disappeared. He's all alone, but he's alright - there's food and shelter and we're going to get him. But for the time being, he's alright." She let the words tumble out of her mouth, but saying them made her feel ill. No matter what she told herself or Emma, the fact remained that Henry was in another world, all alone - even if he lived the same day over and over again, it was still not at home with her.

"A time loop?"

"That's what he said."

"Then how are we supposed to save him?"

"That's what I've spent all my time here trying to figure out." Regina said. "I was trapped in a cave for many months because of it."

"Months!?" Emma exclaimed. "When we saved you from Treasure Island, you'd been there for months?"

"Yes."

"Why were you there?"

"Rumplestiltskin said that something of the Collector's would help me get Henry."

"So you thought the logical next step was burglary?"

"Unless I'm mistaken, you spent the year sailing the seven seas aboard a pirate ship."

"Technically it was a corsair ship and entirely legal." Emma shrugged. "And besides, I didn't have a choice. I was forced by Hook." When she spoke, her voice shook from sheer anger and humiliation, and Regina felt a pang of sympathy for the blonde.

“I promise I’ll make Hook hurt more than enough for this.” She said quietly. “I’ll rip his cock clean off and shove it up his ass, and leave him to the vultures.”

Emma chewed her lip. “You better.” She muttered, her voice almost a growl and so seething with anger it startled the woman before her.

They were silent for another long while, as Regina decided it was best to give Emma time and space to properly take in everything. She knew it must have been awful inside the blonde’s head; the sheer intensity of emotional damage which love spells usually caused was more than enough to deter most from ever using them. Regina knew Emma would probably take a long time to fully recover to her stable self again, and was to be emotionally unstable and volatile in the meantime.

“Regina?”

“Yes, dear?”

“You’re kinder than I gave you credit for.”

Regina sighed as she felt a warmth spread through her chest. “I suppose I did little to give you reason to believe I was anything but Evil.”

“You’re not Evil.”

“Perhaps not anymore, but I certainly was when we met.”

“But you’re not Evil anymore.”

“Why are you so persistent on telling me that?”

“Because I don’t think you believe it.”

Regina glanced at Emma and couldn’t help but tense up the slightest bit. “So what if I don’t?”

“Regina…” Emma groaned against her shoulder. “You have to.”

“Why?”

“Because I do.”

“You do?”

“I do.”

Regina looked over at Emma and smiled. “You’re an idiot.”

“And you’re not Evil.” Emma quipped, tightening her arms around Regina’s waist and burying her face into the woman’s neck. She inhaled deeply, breathing in Regina’s scent, and felt her entire body relax in response.

In time they arrived in a clearing, which Regina judged as good place as any to spend the night. She helped Emma off of the horse as gently as could, and allowed the blonde a moment without her hands being tied while she set up camp.

She was tying Emma’s hands again when the spell washed over her again, and this time, Regina received a particularly sharp blow to the head as Emma attempted yet another escape. Regina fell backwards from the sheer force of the blow, allowing Emma the slightest moment to get up and sprint off. Regina quickly recovered and groaned as she rushed after the blonde.

About quarter a mile later she caught up with Emma and grabbed her by the arm, spinning her around and pinning her against a tree to stop her escape. The sheer force she’d used knocked the air out of Emma’s lungs, and her eyes closed as she tried to regain her breath. When she opened them again, they were green again, and a tentative smile spread onto her face as she took in what was going on.

Regina’s entire body was pinning her against a tree, her hands holding Emma’s above her head. The woman before her was breathing heavily, staring at Emma, their faces only inches apart.

“What on earth were you doing with my evil twin?” Emma wondered aloud, unable to keep the amusement from her voice. Regina, only now realizing Emma was back, went to pull back but was interrupted by Emma’s arms wrapping around her neck and pulling her in for a kiss. Regina’s hands went back to lean against the tree trunk, and her hips pushed against Emma’s, demanding more. She slipped her tongue in the blonde's mouth with ease, and was lost in the moment entirely - all she could think of was the feel of Emma. 

Emma moaned, which caused Regina to tear away from her altogether when she realized just what she was doing.

“Regina--”

“I can’t, Emma.” Regina snapped. “I--it’s not right, not now. Not while you’re under his spell, not when I don’t even know what you’re feeling--”

“But I need you.”

Regina looked at Emma and her expression softened. “Perhaps so. But this...it’s not appropriate.”

Emma pouted. "I don't like it."

"I don't either. But we've got time." Regina told her softly. "Come on. Let's go."

Emma grumbled all the way back to the camp, but refrained from complaining when Regina went to get the rope. In the light provided by the fire, she saw the ugly scrape that ran across Regina’s cheek, and gasped quietly.

“I hurt you again.”

Regina lifted a hand to her face and only now realized she was bleeding. “It’s fine.”

“No it isn’t, I ruined your pretty face.” Emma said softly.

Regina grabbed Emma’s hands and wound them gently together. “It’s fine.”

“Regina...I’m sorry.”

“Honestly, Emma, there’s nothing to apologize for. You’re under a spell. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“But I’m hurting you.”

“So what?”

“I don’t want to be.”

Regina paused and looked up from Emma’s hands at her face. The blonde’s voice was frail, afraid, almost breaking.

“Are you going to cry?” Regina asked gently.

Emma shook her head. “No.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m just emotional, okay? Probably residual effects from the spell.” Emma said quickly, turning away to wipe a tear from her cheek.

Regina stared at Emma for a while, then nodded slowly. “Sure.” But she wasn’t entirely sure she believed that.

 

* * *

 

The next day they rode on at a slower pace. Regina knew they were about to reach the border of the kingdom, and also knew that the likelihood of them running into scouts and soldiers was very small. Even so, the woods had become more and more sparse, and it was harder to navigate. There were more roads here, as a lot of travellers passed through the borders from here, and as they tried their best to avoid other people and roads altogether, finding a path through the woods was harder than she had anticipated.

The less nicer version of Emma was present at random intervals through the day, but it seemed that the green eyes were there to stay. Regina wanted to talk to Emma about what was going on, ask her what she felt and what she wanted - but she was afraid.

The kiss had been wonderful. The second kiss even so, and she could no longer deny that she was incredibly attracted to the blonde who at the current moment was sleeping against her back. Not only did she find Emma incredibly beautiful, the kiss the day before had awoken a hunger within Regina which she had worked so hard to resist and bury. She now couldn’t keep herself from imagining what Emma’s skin would feel like beneath her fingers; how her back would arch, how her chest would heave, how her mouth would make tiny little whimpers and moans as Regina devoured the wetness between her legs. It felt inappropriate, imagining Emma in such situations, and Regina fought hard to think of anything but such things.

But she couldn’t stop those thoughts altogether.

Emma was so many things; she was cute, she was hot, she was sexy, and she was breathtakingly beautiful. She was kind and valiant and grumpy and idiotic, and Regina found she was unable to find any feature of Emma’s which she didn’t find in some way endearing.

“What are you thinking about?”

Regina jumped when she heard Emma whisper the question into her ear, the blonde’s breath hot and husky in such ways which made shivers run down Regina’s back.

“What makes you ask that?” She asked, trying her best to sound normal.

“I tried to talk to you twice in the past fifteen minutes. You didn’t hear me.”

“I was...lost in thought.”

“Thinking about what?”

Regina swallowed. She knew she couldn’t lie to Emma.

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“What about me?

Regina didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to say anything. Emma’s breath touched her skin, making her entire body shudder, and in an instant she knew what she wanted to do.

Courage welled up from somewhere deep within herself as Regina stopped the horse and let go of the reins, turning her body to face Emma and snaking her hand to the blonde’s neck to pull her closer for a gentle kiss. Emma didn’t jump, didn’t pull away, didn’t seem surprised - if anything, she leaned into the kiss and sighed contently as Regina’s thumb stroked her jaw. When they pulled apart, Regina felt fear churning in her stomach as Emma opened her eyes - but they were green, not blue, and shining with happiness and warmth.

“Good answer.” Emma murmured, resting her chin on Regina’s shoulder as they started off again.

“Do you want to talk about this?” She then asked. Regina immediately tensed beneath her touch, and for a moment she regretted voicing those words.

“I suppose we should.”

Emma released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and turned to look at Regina’s face. “Did it mean anything?”

“What? The kiss?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course it did.”

“You said yesterday that you can’t do this while I’m under the spell.” Emma said quietly. “What changed?”

“Nothing. I meant...other things. Not kissing, but what yesterday’s kiss would have lead to.”

“Oh.”

Regina felt Emma shift behind her, and wondered if the thought of having sex with her made the blonde uncomfortable. That thought was washed out of her mind when she felt hot lips against her pulse point, soliciting a low moan from her throat.

“Emma…” She groaned. “No.”

“I know.” Emma chuckled. “I just couldn’t help myself.”

“You’re cruel.”

“You’re the one who’s got me tied up and gagged.” Emma retaliated. “Who’s really the cruel one here?”

“I don’t taunt you.”

“Really?” Emma asked. “Your neck is _right there_. I’d say that’s quite taunting.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Oh, Regina, haven’t you already figured it out? You should _never_ tell me not to do something.” Emma chuckled. “It only makes me want to do it that much more.”

“Miss Swan-”

“Hey!” Emma interrupted. “It’s Emma.”

“It’s Miss Swan when I’m ordering you to not do something.” Regina quipped. “If you can’t keep your lips to yourself, I’ll have to gag you again, and I do so enjoy hearing your voice when it’s not whining.”

Emma chuckled and raised her head off of Regina’s shoulder to look around. “Fine. I won’t kiss your neck. Even though I really want to.”

“Of course you do, dear. And I promise you’ll get to do that once I can trust that the bitchy you won’t come back and punch me in the face again.”

“I’m sorry that happened.”

“It’s no problem.”

“But I’m still sorry.”

Regina sighed and rested her head against Emma’s. “Apology accepted.”


	8. To the Beanstalk

It had been a week since they’d made their escape from the Palace, and Regina had finally accepted that the green eyes had come to stay. The spell was almost entirely gone from Emma’s presence; only small twinges remained, but the duration which the blue eyes lasted were mere moments. In essence, Emma was cured of Hook’s spell.

She hadn’t told Emma where they were headed. Despite being very focused on fixing Emma, Regina hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Henry, not for a second. Having been cooped up in a cave for 118 days hadn’t exactly taught her patience; if anything, she regarded those 118 days as wasted and as time which she had to quickly make up for. “Where are we going?” was a question which Emma repeated constantly, almost every hour or so, but thus far, Regina hadn’t told her. She was so tired she could barely speak; having been relatively immobile for the past half a year had done a good measure on her strength, and it was all she could do to feign energy and strength for Emma’s sake. Not to mention she really, really hated the idea of getting Emma’s hopes up for something which was most likely nothing.

“Regina.”

The blonde’s voice was demanding, though soft, and Regina turned her head slightly to look at Emma. She raised an eyebrow, expecting Emma to speak, but instead received a peck onto her lips and a smile.

“Where are we going?”

Regina groaned. “I already told you. You don’t need to know it yet.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Perhaps.”

Emma made a whining noise. “Why won’t you tell me?”

“Because I don’t want to get your hopes up.” Regina sighed.

“Please?”

“No.”

The blonde grumbled and slumped her head down onto Regina’s shoulder. “You’re killing me, Madam Mayor.”

“I’m sorry, my dear Sheriff, I forgot your boundless curiosity dictates everything you do.” Regina replied with a smirk.

“Just tell me. I’m  _ dying  _ to know.”

“No.”

Emma looked up from amidst messy golden hair. A mischievous grin spread onto her face, but Regina’s eyes were on the road and she failed to catch Emma’s expression, rendering her completely unexpectant for when Emma’s lips suddenly pressed against the most sensitive part of her neck. She inhaled sharply, unable to control her reaction, and heard Emma chuckle slightly before a whole bunch of kisses covered her neck and shoulder.

“Emma...” Regina groaned, feeling her entire body relax and her mind cloud as the blonde continued taunting her.

“Tell me.”

Regina sighed as Emma’s arms tightened around her and the kisses persisted. “Miss Swan--”

“I will get you to tell me, one way or another.” Emma murmured into Regina’s ear, nipping at her earlobe gently.

“Fine.” Regina breathed, trying her best to control the throbbing sensation which had awoken between her legs. “I’ll tell you.”

Emma stopped and looked at the side of Regina’s face expectantly. “Well?”

“We’re going to see if the beanstalk is still there. And if it is, I’m going to flip every rock and speck of dust to find a damned bean to get to Henry.”

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Emma grinned.

“Don’t get your hopes up.”

“Isn’t it good to have hope?”

“I don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“And what’s stopping you from being disappointed?”

Regina didn’t answer. 

“Regina?” Emma asked tentatively, surprised by her silence. “Hey?”

Regina shrugged and turned her head away. “I’m fine.”

“Clearly not.”

“I just...I feel like we’re wasting time.”

“How come? We’re following a lead, aren’t we?”

“Which is most likely a dead end.”

“But what if it isn’t?”

“How can you be so optimistic?”

“I’m not. Not really.” Emma confessed. “I want Henry back just as much as you do, but I barely know anything about anything here so I just feel like dead weight. You, on the other hand-- you’ve got ideas. And I know you’d go to the ends of the Earth to find him. So in a way I have faith in you and that gives me hope.”

Regina snorted. “You have faith in me?” 

“What, like that’s so wrong?”

“Need I remind you that I managed to get bested by a senile dwarf and got myself trapped in a cave for four months, and I am yet to figure out how to get rid of this damn necklace around my neck that’s keeping me from using my magic?”

“So? I got charmed by a glowing pink dick and became an idiotic Barbie for a year.” Emma retorted. “I mean, it  _ glowed _ . How stupid can I be?”

Regina couldn’t help but laugh at that. “We’re both disasters.”

“I agree. This quest is a trainwreck.” Emma chuckled. “But still. We’ll find Henry. I know we will.”

“It’s nice to know someone has faith in me.” 

“Hey. You’re brilliant. If anyone is going to figure out how to get to Henry, it’s you.” Emma said. “I’ll be the muscle to your brain. You figure it out, and I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen.” She then offered, nudging Regina’s shoulder with her head.

“Emma…” Regina began. “You’re not a dead weight.”

“You sure? Cause I sure feel like it.” Emma said, amusement in her voice. “I don’t get to do  _ anything _ by myself. You’ve still got me tied up for fuck’s sake.”

“That’s because you might still fall underneath a moment of lunacy.” Regina complained. “You’re not dead weight. You’re good company.”

“Am I now?” Emma grinned, unable to keep herself from pressing another kiss onto Regina’s clavicle.

“Yes, Miss Swan, you are.” Regina groaned.

“Why is it that each time you call me Miss Swan I feel like a misbehaving five-year-old?”

“It may be because you  _ are _ a misbehaving five-year-old.”

“Am not.”

“Do shush, dear, you know I’m right.”

“Do you really want me to shush?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“You just said I’m good company. Hard to be good company when I’m quiet.”

“Just your presence is more than enough.”

Emma suddenly felt all warm and cuddly, and moved in as close as she could against Regina, nuzzling her face into the woman’s neck. “Your presence is nice, too. You’re very comfortable.”

“Is that why you’re severely restricting my ability to breathe?”

Emma snorted. “My arms are around your waist, not your chest. There may be other reasons as to why you feel like you can’t breathe.”

“Like what, for instance?”

“Me.”

“My, you are confident.”

“Am I wrong?”

Regina faltered slightly. “No.”

Emma smiled and pulled Regina even closer. “Good.”

 

* * *

 

Soon the forest ended altogether, leaving them riding amidst low rolling hills atop which one could see for miles and miles. Far in the distance, they could see the beanstalk, rising into the clouds. A few roads ran along and across the hills, leading travelers from one stretch of the world to another. It was the only way they could reach their destination, but that did not mean it was in any way safe; being out in the open, visible for miles, meant that they could easily be spotted and thus followed. Of course, that also meant they should be able to see anyone who was coming at them and prepare in advance. But nevertheless, Regina felt incredibly insecure about the prospect of having to camp out in the hills for the night, so instead they camped at the edge of the woods.

“We’ll ride faster tomorrow.” She told Emma as she helped the blonde off of the horse. “We should make the stalk by nightfall.”

Emma groaned as her legs began regaining their function. Riding day after day was certainly not something she was used to, which in turn resulted in incredible pains at the end of the day which she was all too eager to voice.

“I’m dying, Regina. I swear to you, my legs are going to fall off.”

Regina chuckled. “You’ll be just fine.”

“Easy for you to say, you’ve been riding all your life.”

“You forget that I was idle in a cave for four months.”

“Still. You don’t seem too bothered.”

“Maybe I’m just better at hiding my pains.” Regina quipped. “I’m going to go gather firewood. Do I need to tie you up?”

Emma groaned. “Not anymore, please. It’s embarrassing enough that you insist on tying my hands everyday.”

Regina weighed the odds. She hadn’t seen the blue eyes for nearly two days. But she couldn’t ignore her gut feeling either. She got the rope and walked over to Emma, who rolled her eyes but followed her to a nearby tree nevertheless.

“I’m sorry, Emma.” Regina sighed as she fastened the knots. “You know I don’t enjoy this.”

“In any other situation, I’d gladly let you tie me up.” Emma muttered, more to herself than Regina. When she realised she’d spoken aloud, her face turned a dark shade of red, soliciting a gentle laugh from the woman before her. Regina leaned in closer, her face inches from Emma’s, and pushed her chin up to make the blonde look at her.

“I’ll take you up on that.” She purred, pressing a hard kiss onto Emma’s lips before walking away and leaving the blonde utterly confused and incredibly aroused in her wake.

When she returned not twenty minutes later, she found the clearing empty. The ropes were in a bunch on the ground, and Emma was nowhere to be seen. Regina felt her heart freeze for just a split second, and the sticks which she’d been carrying came tumbling from her hands.

“Emma!?” She yelled, running to the tree. “Emma!”

It was pointless. The blonde was gone; the spell had obviously returned.

“Fuck.” Regina cursed. “Fuck fuck fuck.”

It was sheer luck that she spotted a ripped strand of Emma’s cloak hanging off of a tree a few feet into the woods. She ran after it, praying the blonde hadn’t gotten far, wishing she was going into the right direction. It was already relatively dark in the woods, and as Regina ran she felt branches and leaves whipping at her body and face. But that was of no matter. Emma was gone and she had to get her back.

“Emma!” She yelled again into the woods, pausing for a brief moment to listen. In the silence of the evening, she could hear the faintest sounds of someone running further down in the woods, and so she sprinted towards the sound as fast as she could. Her legs felt weak, her head was faint - but she had to keep going.

She burst into a road and collided with Emma, sending them both flying off of the road and into the ground. Emma rolled a few feet away from Regina, and scrambled to her feet in an attempt to flee while Regina tried to regain her equilibrium. Instead of running to the woods, Emma ran back past Regina and into the road. In the far distance, Regina could hear a carriage fast approaching. With her hands tied, she ran significantly slower, allowing Regina enough time to stop the idiot from doing something idiotic. She darted over to the road, seeing the travellers in the distance, and grabbed Emma before the blonde could react and dragged her into the woods. She clamped her hand over Emma’s mouth to silence her yelling, and wrapped an arm around the blonde’s waist to stop her from moving. Emma, however, was livid, and Regina realised she wouldn’t be able to keep her for long with just her hands. So she whirled the two of them around, pulling Emma to the ground with her, and climbing atop Emma without so much as a thought before they were spotted. Emma’s hands were still tied, brought up to her chest, and she tried to struggle against Regina’s weight atop her.

“You fucking idiot.” Regina seethed under her breath, leaning in close to Emma’s face. “You scared the living shit out of me.” They were both breathing heavily, and suddenly Regina was overcome by dizziness. She laid onto Emma, trying her best to contain the blonde while attempting to regain her senses.

“Come on, Emma, please come back.” Regina begged. “I’m tired.”

The carriage was now almost past them. They were shielded behind a rock and some bushes, and Regina prayed that they hadn’t been spotted. She could hear the clatter of metal armor, and knew it was a band of soldiers passing. Whether they were from the White Kingdom or not was of no matter - she did not want them seen. She pressed her hand tighter against Emma’s mouth and pushed herself down as low as she could in an attempt to conceal them from view.

The carriage came and went past, and when Regina finally allowed herself to breathe out in relief she noticed Emma had stopped resisting her. She looked at the blonde and saw green eyes gaping at her, curious and dark with an emotion Regina was all too familiar with - lust. 

She withdrew her hand quickly. “I’m so sorry, Emma.” 

Emma just quirked an eyebrow at her. “What happened?”

“You decided to break free at the worst possible moment.”

“And that’s why you’re on top of me?”

“Yes.” Regina said. She then realised there was no reason for her to remain, and went to get up.

“Wait.”

She froze and looked at Emma in confusion. “What?”

“Just...stay.”

“Emma…”

“I thought I was dreaming.” Emma laughed gently. “Would have been a great dream.”

“How come?”

“You’re on top of me.” Emma said with a smile. “A dream come true.”

Regina rolled off of the blonde and huffed. “Not now, Emma.”

“I know.” The blonde groaned. “But you’re not making it easy for me.”

“I know I’m not.” Regina sighed. “But your bitchy self just won’t stop returning.”

“Well it’s probably not going to be back for another twelve hours.”

“Probably being the key word.”

“Can’t we just stay here and pretend we don’t have anywhere to be?” Emma whined. Regina chuckled and laid her head onto Emma’s shoulder, pressing a gentle kiss onto Emma’s jaw.

“You’re hungry.” She stated simply. “So I’m afraid not.”

“I’m not--”

“I can hear your stomach rumbling. Either that or there’s a bear next to us.”

Emma grumbled. “Fine. I’m hungry. But you’re so warm.”

“I have nothing against cuddling back at the camp.” Regina told her as she rolled off of the blonde and stood up to offer her a hand. Emma took it eagerly, wincing as the movement caused small jolts of pain to erupt where her body had collided with the ground.

“Are you hurt?” Regina asked, eyes full of concern.

“I’m fine.” Emma groaned. “Just a few bumps and bruises.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You did what you had to do.”

“Well I didn’t have to throw you onto the ground--”

“I ran into the road and we might’ve been seen. You did what you thought was best, Regina.” Emma quipped. “My idiot self is just that - an idiot.”

“The you you is an idiot too.” Regina replied. “Just...not as idiotic.”

“I’m glad you think that.”


	9. Have At It

Back at the camp, Regina managed to build up a nice, warm fire to warm them in the quickly cooling night. It was late summer, which meant warm sunny days and dark, cold nights. The stars twinkled overhead, bright white specks strewn across the skies like diamonds. The woods were quiet, and before them the hilly grasslands looked like a still ocean. A gentle breeze passed over them, making the high grass rustle softly in the darkness. There were no other sounds; the animals were asleep.

“It’s so quiet.” Emma whispered. They were seated close to one another next to the fire, a small distance between the two of them.

“It is.” 

“And beautiful. I’ve never seen stars like this before.”

“That’s most likely due to the fact that there isn’t any light pollution.” Regina offered her the scientific explanation. Emma chuckled and shuffled over, leaning her head against Regina’s shoulder. 

“Way to be romantic.”

“Were we being romantic?” Regina asked, her voice faltering slightly.

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

Quiet fell over them like a warm, heavy blanket, and for a long while neither of them spoke. Regina moved to lean against the log and allowed Emma to sit in front of her so that they could wrap the blanket around them better. Her legs were on either side of the blonde, who leaned back and laid in Regina’s lap, looking at the sky with a content look on her face.

Regina took a deep breath and finally voiced the question she had been dying to ask for the past week. 

“Are we romantic?” 

Emma pretended to think about it for a moment before replying. “I think we are.”

“Does that mean--” Regina began, her voice falling away. Emma turned to look at her with an expectant look on her face.

“Yes?”

“--that we’re in a relationship?”

Emma pondered for a bit. “I’d like to be.” She smiled when she saw the relief spread across Regina’s face, and kissed the woman gently.

“You’re beautiful.” She then said quietly, as though she feared any loud noise would shatter the beauty of the moment.

Regina looked down, feeling her face grow hot. Emma laughed softly and rested her head against Regina’s, her blonde locks falling to frame her face.

“You’re cute, too.”

“Hush.” Regina muttered. 

“Did you just shush me?”

“Shut up.” The woman pulled Emma in for a proper kiss, firm and demanding. Her hands grabbed at Emma’s waist, turning her over so that she was straddling her, and Emma brought her hands up to throw around Regina’s neck as she deepened the kiss with a moan. Regina’s hands were now on Emma’s thighs, not moving despite Emma’s wishes for just that - she wanted more, she wanted it all; she wanted Regina.

“I need you,” she murmured as she pressed soft kisses onto Regina’s neck. “I want you.”

Regina moaned and wanted to give in to the moment. “But what if--”

“It won’t happen.” Emma said. “I won’t let it.”

“But you can’t control it--”

“Regina. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m the one who might get punched if Hookified you finds out we’ve been intimate.”

Emma stopped the kissing altogether and looked deeply into Regina’s eyes. “It won’t happen.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I want this, I want you so bad that I am determined the universe will let me have this.” Emma kissed Regina again, and a low moan erupted from the woman’s throat as the blonde’s lips caught her own. “Trust me, Regina.”

“I--oh god, I do.” Regina gasped. “Fuck.”

“Is that a yes?”

Regina looked down at Emma, whose mouth was lingering over her clavicle. “A thousand times yes.”

Emma tugged at Regina's shirt with her bound hands, and Regina quickly slipped it off of herself. It didn’t matter that it was cold outside, or that they were  _ outside _ \- they were both too caught up with each other to care about twigs and rocks and dirt getting on themselves.

Emma moved her hips in a way which caused Regina to gasp as the throb between her legs increased substantially. Suddenly she felt a surge of energy, an incredible hunger which she needed to satisfy. She grabbed the blanket from where it had fallen and tossed it onto the ground before laying Emma onto her back, never releasing the blonde’s lips from her own. Emma made small noises as Regina slid her hand down the blonde’s toned stomach, her slender fingers just barely grazing the sensitive skin of her hips before unlacing Emma’s pants with unexpected dexterity. 

“Regina, I need--” Emma gasped as Regina’s hand pressed onto her sex over the pants, causing her mind to go blank for just a split second. Regina chuckled and moved down to kiss at the exposed skin of Emma's chest, savoring the feeling and knowledge of Emma’s desperate want. She pushed the hem of Emma's shirt up to expose her breasts, and sighed from the sheer pleasure of the sight. Emma's cheeks were slightly pink, and she was watching Regina, waiting, looking all too beautiful for words.

“All in time, my dear.” She purred. She nipped at Emma’s nipple, causing the blonde to yelp in surprise at the sudden pain. Her tongue soothed the pain, and Emma’s chest rose as her breathing became heavier. Regina’s hand was resting atop Emma’s sex, not moving, not touching, and she knew it was driving the blonde mad.

“Regina-”

“I have waited a long time for this. I’m in no rush.” Regina quipped, effectively silencing Emma by pressing her hand against the woman’s front. She moved up and captured Emma’s lips again, feeling the blonde’s still bound hands pressing against her front as she let herself fall atop her completely. She could taste the lust on every bit of Emma, and finally slipped her hand into Emma’s pants to meet the wetness within. Emma whimpered as Regina’s fingers toyed with her most delicate place, but Regina wouldn’t allow her to move her mouth away. The moans and whimpers grew louder as Regina slid two fingers into Emma, feeling the tight muscles clench around them in the most pleasurable of ways.

“Fuck, Emma.” She groaned, feeling a shiver run through her entire body in response to the infinitely pleasurable feeling of Emma’s wet sex. “You’re wet.”

Emma made a grumbling noise and Regina looked up to see the blonde looking at her with a slightly annoyed look.

“What?” She asked, feigning innocence. As Emma continued her silence, Regina smirked and moved her fingers again, causing Emma’s head to throw back as she gasped loudly.

“Can’t you untie me?” Emma whimpered in between moans as Regina continued fucking her. “I want to be able to touch you.”

“I don’t know. I kind of like this...arrangement.” Regina murmured, pressing  soft kisses along Emma’s hip. “Didn’t I tell you I’d take you up on this?”

Emma groaned again, both from frustration and pleasure as Regina’s mouth found it’s way between her legs. Regina moaned when she tasted the blonde’s wetness, the entirety of it overwhelming all five of her senses. Emma didn’t answer Regina; she was rendered incapable of any functional coherent thinking by what the woman was doing between her legs. 

Regina glanced up to see that Emma’s eyes had fluttered shut, her lips just slightly parted. The increased contractions of the muscles around Regina’s fingers and the slow arch in Emma’s back told her that the blonde was coming close.

“Please.” Emma gasped. Regina grinned and didn’t stop what she was doing, did not change a thing; a moment later, Emma came crashing down and became undone, a low moan erupting from her throat as she came. Regina didn’t stop until Emma had ridden her climax down, and was laying on the blanket, completely spent. She then slowly pulled out her fingers, causing a little whimper to escape Emma’s lips, and crawled over to hover over Emma’s face. The blonde’s eyes were hazy, almost entirely black from arousal, and Regina thought she had never seen anyone look so beautiful in her life.

A sly grin spread onto Emma’s face, and suddenly her bound hands hooked behind Regina’s neck and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. Emma’s tongue claimed her mouth, tasting her own essence, and Regina couldn’t help but moan as Emma hooked her legs around her waist and pulled her even closer.

“You know,” Emma said amidst kisses, “this would be a lot easier if you untied me.”

Regina chuckled. “You seem to be doing just fine.”

“I want to hold you.” Emma murmured into her ear. “I want to touch you.”

A shiver ran through Regina’s spine, and with a groan she pulled Emma’s hands away from her neck and hastily untied the rope.

“There. Have at it.” 

Emma grinned slyly and grabbed Regina’s waist, quickly pulling the two of them up to sit up against the log with Regina in Emma’s lap. Regina hadn’t  expected such strength and agility from the blonde, but her surprise was quickly overshadowed by pleasure when Emma’s lips found their way to her breasts. The blonde nipped and kissed and suckled at them, and the sight alone would have been enough to arouse Regina. The feel, however, was far greater, and Regina felt the throb between her legs grow to an unprecedented volume.

“Emma--” She gasped as the blonde’s hands grabbed at her ass and waist. “I need-”

“I know what you need,  _ dear _ .” Emma hummed. “Stand up.”

“What?”

“Let’s get those pants off.”

Regina found herself enjoying this demanding side of Emma. With shaky legs, she stood up, and Emma rose to her knees so her face was level with Regina's hips. She kissed along Regina’s stomach and hip while her fingers unlaced Regina’s pants, and as she pulled the pants off of the woman before her she made sure to press kisses wherever bare skin emerged. 

“When did you take off your boots?” Emma wondered as she slipped the pants off and tossed them aside.

“Does it matter?”

Emma laughed. “No.” She ran a hand up Regina’s thigh and let her thumb brush along the slit, feeling the wetness practically drip from Regina’s sex. “You’re so wet.” She murmured. “Spread your legs for me.”

Regina did just that, feeling oddly shy but far too aroused to care, and cried out in pleasure when Emma’s mouth found it’s way to her sex. All she could think about, all she felt, was Emma’s tongue flicking and swirling in her folds, the occasional pressure to her clit, and the intensity of the pleasure she had waited so long to have. Her eyes were closed, and she didn’t even notice that she was falling until suddenly she was in Emma’s arms, and then on the ground; all she knew that Emma’s mouth momentarily left her, but returned moments later to make her forget all over again.

She knew she was close before the warmth came, and when it did, it only took her seconds to tip over the edge and climax. She could faintly hear Emma chuckle as her hips bucked and she gasped, and then she laid back, completely relaxed to the point where she wasn’t even sure if she existed any more.

Emma came to lay beside her, and she could feel the blonde running her fingers along her skin, circling her breasts and along her stomach. 

“Good?”

Regina opened her eyes and turned to look at Emma with a smile on her face. “What do you think?”

Emma chuckled. The fire beside them had dwindled, but neither of them cared. The residual heat only warmed them up so much, and Regina reached over to drape the blankets over the two of them. Emma moved in closer, and Regina let her in, pulling the blonde against her chest so that her chin rested atop Emma’s head.

“You do know I’m going to have to tie you up again, right?”

“I do.” Emma sighed. “But I don’t like it.”

“Soon I won’t have to.” Regina murmured. Her hand left Emma’s waist and took the rope, and she brought Emma’s hands up close to bind them. She wound the rope slowly, carefully, pressing gentle kisses onto Emma’s knuckles and fingers as she did. 

“I’m sorry.” She whispered before kissing Emma full on the lips. “It’s for your own safety. I can’t risk you running away.”

Emma smiled gently. “I know.”

That night, they slept in each other’s arms, skin on skin, and they had no care in the world. They were not cold, for they had one another; and, come morning, they both awoke feeling happier than they had felt in a long while.


	10. Henry

“Fuck!” 

Emma watched quietly as Regina walked around, cursing at the skies, and felt equally as frustrated and angry as the queen before her. The beanstalk, which had appeared so fine from afar, had dried up, and was completely un-climbable. The likelihood of finding a bean anywhere was little to none, and so Regina’s reaction was completely reasonable.

“Now what?” Emma asked when Regina seemed to have calmed down a little bit.

“I don’t know.”

“Where do we go?”

“I don’t know.”

Emma sighed and slumped down onto a tree stump. “Fuck.”

“My words exactly.” Regina muttered, kicking a rock into the air. She wasn’t looking where it flew, but heard a tiny yelp and snapped her head around to see someone she had never expected to see.

“What the fuck?” She yelled. Before them, a few yards away, stood none other than the Collector, looking rather annoyed. Regina wanted to wring his neck, but before she got to him he disappeared and reappeared at another location a few yards away.

“Sweetheart, you’ll never catch me anyway. So sit down and listen.”

“Why should I? You locked me in that cave for months!”

“Only because you tried to steal from me. I was teaching you a lesson. I was going to let you out.” The Collector quipped. His pointed beard quivered; he seemed somehow agitated, though for what reason, neither of the women knew. Emma was quiet, watching the two have their exchange from further away, feeling completely confused and excluded.

Regina huffed and paced around. “Why are you here? Bringing me back to your cave, are you?”

“I’m here to offer you a deal.”

“A deal? What could you possibly want from me?”

“I want that necklace back.”

“Why?” Regina asked, narrowing her eyes. She wanted nothing more than for the necklace to go, but knew there was something the Collector wasn’t saying. 

“It’s priceless.”

“Why?”

“It’s one of it’s kind.” The dwarf sighed. “Now will you give it to me or not?”

“What will you give in exchange?”

“What you came looking for.” The dwarf grinned slyly and retrieved a small object from the folds of his silky blue robes. Emma’s eyes widened when she saw that it was a regular cell phone - an old, classic Nokia phone.

“Why the fuck do you have a phone?” Regina asked the dwarf. 

“I collect.” He replied earnestly. “But I do believe this will get you in touch with your boy.”

“So you want me to give you this necklace...in exchange for a phone?”

“Is that what it is? A phone?” The dwarf asked, now interested. “What is a phone?”

“A communicating device. Give it to me and take this damn necklace off of me, and then fuck off before I blast you into space.”

The dwarf chuckled and hopped over, handing her the phone. Regina leaned forward and allowed him to undo the necklace, feeling her magic surge through her as the restraint was finally dropped. 

“You’re welcome.” The dwarf grinned, disappearing in a shimmer of gold.

Regina turned to look at Emma, the phone still in her hand. “Now what?”

Emma stood and came over and took the phone from her. “Now we call our son.”

“Think it’s got battery?”

“It’s a Nokia, Regina. Of course it’s got battery.” Emma muttered as she turned the device on. Sure enough, the screen lit up, and both women felt a surge of excitement as they waited for the phone to load.

“What’s the country code for this place?” Emma joked as she punched in Henry’s cell and pressed the green call button. Regina was too nervous to answer her, and watched the phone intently as they waited to see if the call would go through.

“Hello?” Henry asked on speaker. Emma cried out from surprise, causing Regina to jump. “Hello?”

“Henry! It’s Mom and Ma!” Emma said quickly. “Oh my god.”

“Ma?” Henry sounded surprised to say the least. “What number is this? Where are you?”

“We’re in the Enchanted Forest.” Regina told him. 

“What? How are you calling me?”

“Long story. Listen. What time is it there?”

“It’s around eleven pm.” Henry said. Regina drew in a sharp breath; his memories would be wiped in an hour, and so any plan they had had to wait.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” 

“Yes, I’m just confused - where is everyone?”

“We’re all here in the Enchanted Forest.”

“How can I get there?”   
“We’ll figure something out. Go to sleep, Henry. We’ll call you in a few hours, okay? It’ll all make sense soon. We’ll get you home.” Regina finished the call.

“Okay. Love you!” 

“Love you.” Both Emma and Regina sighed when they heard the call click to signal Henry had hung up. Emma looked up to see Regina trembling, and saw tears in her eyes. She pocketed the phone and wrapped her arms around her, allowing the woman to crumble into her arms. Sobs shook Regina’s body as she cried, and Emma tried soothing her as best she could, despite the fact that she was crying as well.

“Hey, it’s okay. He’s fine.” She murmured into Regina’s hair. “We’ll get him home.”

“He’s such a good boy.” Regina whispered, drawing in a deep breath. “So brave.”

“Of course he is. You raised him that way.”

Regina pulled away slightly and kissed Emma, tasting the saltiness of the tears on her lips. She raised her hand to wipe the tears away from her face and Emma’s, and tried a gentle smile. “I’m just so relieved.”

“And you’ve got magic now, too.” Emma reminded her. “Can’t say so much for myself, but--”

“When the bimbo you is gone, the ropes and cuff will come off in an instant. Don’t worry.”

“How will you even know?”

“I can feel it.” Regina told her. “The spell...it’s almost gone.”

“But now that you have your magic, can’t you just untie me? You can find me anyway with a spell or something.”

Regina thought about it for a moment. “I guess...”

Emma smiled and raised her hands to Regina’s face. “Please,  _ your Majesty _ . Do untie me.” 

Regina did, and Emma was incredibly happy to have her hands free. The cuff remained, but she didn’t care; she wasn’t so big on magic anyway.

“Now what?” She asked, wrapping her arms around Regina’s waist and pulling her closer. “We’ve got about two hours before we can wake Henry. We could have some..fun.”

Regina rolled her eyes. “No, Miss Swan, we are going to plan.”

“Plan?” Emma asked, leaning in to kiss Regina’s neck. “You sure?”

“Yes, Emma, I am. And you want to plan too.”

Emma groaned. “But when Henry’s here we won’t be able to do it anymore.”

“You want him back, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. Don’t doubt that for a second.”

“How about we first figure out a plan and if you’re helpful, I’ll reward you with a little...fun.” Regina suggested. Emma’s eyes lit up and she released her, walking over to where the horse waited.

“What are you doing?” Regina asked incredulously.

“Getting a blanket. Or would Your Majesty rather sit on the ground and plan?”

Regina chuckled and followed the blonde, who spread the blanket onto the grass and smiled. The afternoon sun warmed them nicely as they laid onto the blanket. Emma was on her back, staring at the blue sky and the wispy white clouds, waiting for Regina to start tossing ideas at her.

“So…” She began after a while had passed. “Any way of getting Henry back?”

“Actually, yes. And it shouldn’t be too hard, either.”

“Really?”

“I may have kept an emergency stash.”

“Of what, beans?”

“One bean. And a compass.”

“Alright. So we tell Henry to get them and then he’s here?”

“Pretty much.” Regina shrugged. “I just hope he ends up  _ here _ . With us.”

“What if he doesn’t?”

“Then we scour the earth till we do.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Emma said, turning to her side. “We really didn’t need to plan anything.”

“Maybe not.” Regina smiled. “But this way I got you to get us a blanket before you jumped on me.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “I am  _ not _ that desperate.”

“Oh, really?” Regina asked, climbing on top of Emma and pinning her hands above her head. “ _ Please, Regina, I need--”  _ She imitated, her face just inches from Emma’s.

“Oh, fuck you.”

“How about I fuck you instead?” Regina murmured, leaning in to kiss Emma. “Would that be better?”

 

* * *

 

An hour and a half later, they were clothed again, completely spent and incredibly happy.

“Ready to get our son back?” Emma asked as she pulled out the phone.

“More than anything.” Regina sighed. They were still laying on the blanket, comfortably in each other’s arms, and were more than ready to welcome Henry home.

“Wait.” Regina suddenly said. Emma’s thumb was hovering over the call button, and for a moment she paused.

“What?”

“What do we tell Henry?”

“About what?”

“About us?”

“Uh...that we’re together?”

“Think he’ll be ok?”

“Of course he will.” Emma said, pressing the button. 

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Hi Henry, it’s Ma. Mom’s here too.”

“Ma? Where are you?”

“We’re in the Enchanted Forest. You’re stuck in a time loop.”

“How do I get out?”

Emma couldn’t help but smile when she heard that. Even in a bizarre situation like this, Henry was so willing to believe it was almost ridiculous. She nodded at Regina to start telling him her plan.

“Listen, Henry, where are you right now?”

“I’m at Granny’s.”

“Good. And you have your keys?”

“Yes.”

“I need you to go to my vault, okay?”

“Why?”

“There’s a bean stashed there. You’re coming home.”

A while passed as Henry cycled his way to the cemetery, they didn’t(or couldn’t) hang up, and so they spent a while just listening to him breathe. Luckily enough, he had a key to Regina’s vault in his keyring, and soon enough he was inside and searching.

“I can’t find it, Mom.” 

“Sure you can. Did you look in the purple box for the key?”

“Purple? I thought you said yellow.”

“Nonono, purple. Find it?”

“Yeah. I found the key.”

“Good. Now go to the mirror at the end of the hall and move it aside.”

“There’s a door here?”

“Yes, go in. There should be a bust of Caesar in the corner. You see it?”

“Yeah.”

“Put the key in his mouth.”

“Hold on-- got it. Oh, it opens.”

“See the little red box?”

“Yeah?”

“There should be a bean and a compass in there.”

“Yes?”

“Ok, Henry, I need you to listen very carefully. Take the compass in your hand and the bean in the other. Drop the bean on the floor - not yet, when I tell you to - and a portal will open. I want you to step into that portal and hold onto that compass and think of us.”

“Ok.”

“You ready?”

“Yeah.”

“We love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Ok. See you in a bit.”

“I’m dropping the bean now. Bye!”

The next few moments were as agonizing as they were long. Regina and Emma were both silent, praying inside their heads, waiting to see any sign that Henry was there with them. A minute passed, and dread began entering their hearts as they started to realise that Henry wasn’t coming.

“Moms!”

Emma collapsed to her knees from sheer relief when she heard Henry’s voice, and Regina in turn whirled around to see the boy running towards them from the hills. She let out a cry and opened her arms wide, allowing Henry to run into them and hug her tight.

“Oh my god, Henry.” She gasped, fighting back the tears. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.” He mumbled, his arms tight around her. Emma, finally regaining her ability to function, got up and walked over to hug him as well.

“Good to see you, kid.”

She looked at Regina and saw she was crying, and instinctively reached out to hold her hand. Henry pulled away and saw, and his eyes flickered back and forth between his two moms for a moment.

“What’s going on?” He asked slowly. “Are you two-”

“Is it that obvious?” Emma gasped. Henry smiled and shrugged.

“You’ve been obvious for a while.”

“What?” Regina asked, looking at her son in confusion. “We didn’t even get together until a few days ago.”

“Well the pining has been going on for  _ years _ .” Henry quipped.

“And you didn’t think to mention it?” Emma inquired.

“I figured you’d figure it out.”

“Well…” Emma shrugged. “Told you he’d be ok.”

A long while passed as they explained to Henry all that had happened over the past year; while Emma chose to omit certain parts of her story, she did tell him about Hook’s love spell and her marriage to him and Regina’s heroism. Henry was understandably angry, but by the end he seemed to be only slightly shaken overall to have lost an entire year of his life.

“I can’t remember it anyway, so it’s fine.” He said.

“Now what?” Emma asked Regina, who had been quiet for a while. The sun was setting, painting the sky a wonderful masterpiece of gold and pink and red and orange, and for awhile, they all fell silent to watch.

“I think it’s time we got you home, Emma.”

“Really?” Emma asked. “Is the spell gone?”

“As much as it can be.”

“But what will happen when I see Hook?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he won’t even touch you.”

“You’re not going to kill him, are you?” Henry asked, eyeing his mothers warily.

“Probably not.” Regina sighed. 

“Promise me you won’t.”

“Fine. I won’t kill him.”

Henry grinned slightly. “So...how are we going home?”

“Take my hand, dear, and we’ll be there shortly.” Regina told him, offering him her hand.

“What about the horse?” Emma asked, withdrawing her hand. 

“What about him?”

“Will he be okay on his own?”

Regina waved her hand and suddenly the horse was gone.

“What did you do to him?”

“He’s back at the stables. Now for us, dear-” Regina smiled, taking Emma’s hand and apparating them back to the palace.


	11. Wonderful Parenting 101

They appeared in the courtyard, amidst men and women and children, and for a while, nobody seemed to notice them. But then, a man walked past and saw, dropped what he was carrying and yelled: “It’s the Evil Queen!”

Panic ensued, and before long they were left standing in the courtyard all alone save for every soldier in the castle surrounding them.

“Well, isn’t this a grand welcome.” Regina grumbled.

“What is going on?” Emma muttered, feeling very agitated. “They should be happy I’m back.”

“You forget, dear, that technically speaking I kidnapped you.”

The soldiers remained still as the doors opened and Snow and Charming emerged from the palace in a hurry.

“Emma!” They cried, barging through the soldiers to see better. “What are you doing here, Regina?” Charming yelled.

“I’m bringing your dear daughter back home. And your grandson.”

“You do realise we’re going to have to arrest you.”

“For what?”

“Kidnapping?”

“I went with her willingly!” Emma yelled back. “She hasn’t committed a crime, and she’s no danger, so call off your damn guards before I get really pissed off!”

Snow and Charming faltered, and for a short moment they considered Emma’s words before ordering the guards to leave. They came over to stand a few feet from them, a look of concern and worry plastered onto their faces.

“Why did you leave, Emma? Poor Killian was so devastated - how could you leave him like that?”

“Where is he?” Emma seethed. “I’ve got something I’d like to say to him.”

“He left, honey. He’s looking for you. We haven’t seen him since you disappeared.”

“Don’t let him back. He’s banished, forever.”

“Why?”

“He put me under a love spell, damn it.” Emma grumbled. “I left with Regina so that my head could be cleared, and it’s now clear and I want to kill him.”

“Mom!”

“I won’t.” Emma promised Henry. “But I want to.”

“You’re obviously confused, Emma.” Snow said. “I know you love Killian.”

“I really don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Trust me, Mom, when I say this - I do not love Hook.”

“You’ve done something to her.” Charming suddenly snapped, raising his sword to point at Regina. “You’ve got her under some spell.”

“Me?” Regina scoffed, not moving even when the sword’s point pressed against her throat. “Please. Aren’t you listening? Your daughter was under a spell before I came along. I fixed it.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I love her.” Regina blurted out. She felt Emma tense beside her, and glanced over to see the green eyes wide with shock and surprise.

“You what?”

“I love Emma, and apparently I was the only one who loved her enough to notice that her eyes were _blue_ and that she was under a spell.”

“You can’t love Emma.” Snow said. “You’re--”

“What, evil? Not anymore, dear. And aren’t you supposed to be all about love and rainbows and unicorns anyway?”

“This is some kind of sick trick.” Charming growled. “Emma, come away from her. Now.”

Emma refused to move. “No.”

“Emma.”

“Not if you’re going to hurt her.”

“You’re clearly not yourself, Emma.”

“I’m more myself now than I have been in the past year!” Emma snapped. “Why won’t you believe me?”

“Sweetheart.” Snow said softly. “Just come here. We’ll talk about this.”

“Not if you’re going to hurt Regina.” Emma was trembling with anger; her own parents were refusing to believe the truth, and it annoyed her more than she thought possible. She felt Regina’s hand slip into hers, and heard a quiet whisper in her ear.

“I don’t think I’m welcome here. Don’t worry, I’m not leaving for real. This is your family, and my presence here only makes matters worse. I’ll be at my castle. I love you.” Regina pressed a soft kiss against Emma’s cheek, soliciting angry huffs from Snow and Charming alike, and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke before Emma had time to react. She whimpered slightly, wanted to cry; but instead she turned to face her parents with anger in her eyes.

“Now you’re going to listen to me or so help me God I will leave and never look back.”

 

* * *

 

After ensuring Henry was all good and taken care of, Emma stomped into her parents’ study, angry as ever. Snow and Charming looked at their daughter, confused as ever, and waited for her to speak.

“I cannot believe you.” Emma seethed. “I cannot believe that you refuse to believe me when I say I’m fine. I’m myself. I wasn’t before, but now I am.”

“But, dear, you were so in love with Killian. What changed?”

“The spell wore off. That’s what changed.” Emma spat.

“What spell?”

“The love spell.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because he’s obviously the worst scum of the earth!”

“Listen. I think you need to calm down and think about this for a second. Killian is your _husband_. I - we - saw how you were with him. It was so beautiful, and you were so happy-”

“I had blue eyes!”

“Perhaps, but we just thought--”

“I don’t care what you thought!” Emma cried. “Hook used me! He turned me into a bimbofied Barbie for his own pleasure and you didn’t even notice!”

“Don’t speak to your mother like that.” Charming interrupted.

“I will speak to you as damn well as I please. You failed me.” Emma growled. “And you sent the woman I love away.”

“You love her?”

“Yes, I do, and I didn’t even get to say it to her before she left because of _you_!”

“You can’t love her.”

“Why not? Because she’s a woman?”

“That and she’s evil? She ruined our lives countless times?”

“She’s not like that anymore.”

“So?”

“I don’t care what you think, Snow.” Emma snapped. “I love her and that’s not going to change. What can change is whether or not you accept it, and whether or not you believe what I say.”

“But how can we? You disappear for two weeks, and then appear with our mortal enemy and your son who’s been missing for a year and tell us that you no longer love your husband but that you’ve fallen for a woman? Can you really expect us to just roll with it?”

Emma groaned. “Yes? At least you could try?”

“It’s just not...it doesn’t make sense, Emma. Hook was so good to you. I mean...you got married.”

“He used me!” Emma cried. “Did you not hear me say ‘love spell’? It took two weeks for me to clear my head from his magic, and I damn well will never see him again. And the marriage isn’t real - I didn’t even consent, not really, and even if you won’t let it be annulled I will either divorce him or kill him. Your choice.”

“What has Regina done to you?” Snow gasped. Emma looked at her long enough to see tears in her eyes, and turned her face away to refrain from being affected by the fact that her mother was upset.

“Regina hasn’t done anything to me but be good.” Emma said quietly. “No spell, no nothing. You can test me - ask Rumplestiltskin, I don’t care. But you have to believe me, Hook is to never be let here again.”

“He’s on his way as we speak. We sent out a bird.” David blurted out. “And you will see him.”

“What makes you think that?” 

“Because either you go willingly or we force you. You’re obviously in some kind of state. He’ll know what to do, he’s your husband.”

Emma backed away from them, fear flashing in her eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

“Emma, we’re afraid. We don’t understand what’s gotten into you.”

“What’s gotten into me is the fact that I’ve realized Hook used me like a doll for his own rotten pleasure for a year and you let him.” Emma seethed. “I will not see him.”

With that, she stormed out of the room and to her quarters. The whole way there, she wanted to cry, wanted to scream; she wanted to destroy everything in her path. The cuff on her wrist frustrated her more than anything, and she turned on her heels to head down to the Royal Magician’s quarters instead.

She burst into Rumple’s room with such force the door slammed against the wall. But she didn’t care, not even when Rumplestiltskin ran from the adjacent room sputtering curses.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing?”

“Get this off of me. Now.” Emma growled, shoving her wrist at the man.

“Why would I do that?”

“I need to break something. It can either be your skull or something else, you choose.”

“I’m afraid I can’t. Only the one who placed it on you can take it off.”

Emma groaned. Regina hadn’t accounted for being separated so soon, and she wished more than anything that the woman were here now.

“Can’t you at least tell my parents that what I’m telling them is true?”

“I don’t know, what are you telling them?” Rumple asked, quirking his eyebrow.

“Hook had me under a love spell for a year.”

Emma couldn’t help but notice Rumplestiltskin did not appear to be surprised. “You knew!” She gasped.

“Yes, dearie, I knew.”

“And you didn’t do anything?”

“It wasn’t my place.” Rumple said with a simple shrug. “And it isn’t mine now.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, Miss Swan, that your situation will solve itself without my interference.”

“My parents are on the war path to kill Regina. How is that for solving?”

But Rumplestiltskin only laughed and walked back into the other room, slamming the door behind him.


	12. Home

More than anything, Emma wanted to leave and go to Regina, but knew she had to do something about her parents. She couldn’t just run away from this. Hook was still the Head of the Royal Navy, and the likelihood of her parents sending an army after her if she left was high. Running away was not the solution, and she knew that all too well. She had to at least try to fix the situation.

Two days passed with no change; both Snow and Charming seemed adamant that Emma had changed, and that they were right and she was wrong. She couldn’t count the times she’d stormed off after becoming too frustrated and furious to function.

Henry was the only thing keeping her sane during those times. She refrained from showing her anger to him, knowing he was too young for her to dump all her shit onto him. Even so, it seemed that he knew she was struggling, and did all he could to remind her to be happy, too. He insisted on playing games, telling jokes, and, most of all, talking about Regina. Emma couldn’t even begin to explain how it felt for her to hear all about Regina from Henry, how the woman had been throughout his life. She had only known Regina for a few years, but Henry had known her for all his life, and he had a lot of stories to tell.

But there came a point where Emma realized she’d had enough. It had been their fifth argument of the day, and Snow had been especially agitated, telling Emma of all the horrid things Regina had done in the past.

“She’s evil, Emma, no matter what you say.” Snow begged her daughter. “And now she’s got you under a spell, I just know it - you’re so different, I--”

“It’s because I’m fucking happy, Snow!” Emma snapped. “And I’m myself.”

“But she’s a woman Emma.”

“So?”

“You’re a Princess.”

“So?”

“It’s not...traditional.”

“What part of being abandoned and brought up in the foster care system, of ending up in jail at 17 and having a baby before my 18th birthday is traditional?” Emma growled. She saw Snow pale, and knew she’d hit an especially sore spot.

“You know we did that because of Regina.”

“You can’t blame all your hardships on Regina.” Emma retorted. “She may have cast the curse but you’re the one who decided to send me away.”

“I can’t believe you.”

“You can’t believe me?” Emma snorted. “I’m trying to tell you the truth and you _refuse_ to believe me. Do you even understand how much that hurts me?” She tried to remain strong and cold, but her voice broke when she spoke those words. Her eyes burned, and she wiped away an angry tear as she awaited Snow’s response.

“Emma…” Snow sighed. “I just wish you’d understand.”

“Understand what?”

“That we’re right.”

“You know what? I’m done.” Emma shook her head and glared at her mother. “I’m done with your shit. I’m leaving. You’ll know where to find me if you ever want to apologize. But I’m not stepping into this palace while you still defend Hook.”

She stormed out of the study, down the stairs, across the halls to her room. She burst in, surprising Henry, but did not care. As she began piling clothes into her bag, Henry realized they were leaving, and began helping.

Half an hour later they were already on the road, on their way to Regina’s castle. It was about a days’ ride, and Emma cursed the cuff on her wrist yet again for forcing them to take the slow route. Henry was quiet; he knew better than to ask why they were leaving, because in a sense he already knew. He was all too excited to be traveling in this new land, riding a horse, and heading to the castle which belonged to his mother. It was all so surreal and so great that he didn’t even care that it was raining and cold.

By the time they reached the castle, it was almost midnight. Emma had taken Henry into her own saddle to ensure he wouldn’t fall off of the horse in his sleep, and the other horse’s reins she had tied onto her saddle. Her cape covered them both, but provided little shelter from the pouring rain. Henry wore the better leather cape, which kept him dry - Emma had insisted he take it. She didn’t care if she got wet, just so long as her son was warm and comfortable.

The castle arose amidst the landscape as they emerged from the woods, and Emma felt a sensation she was not very familiar with.

 _Home_.

She pushed the horse to ride faster, and they descended into the valley and towards the castle with haste. The castle’s gates were open, and they rode into the courtyard which was empty. After leaving the horses in what she presumed to be the stables, she woke Henry up.

“We’re home.” She said gently, shaking the boy. “Get up. We’ll get you into bed in no time.”

Henry yawned and slid off of the horse, his legs wobbly and numb from the long ride. Emma took the little bags they’d taken and together they walked up the stairs to the grand doors of the palace. The knocker on the door was humongous, and she lifted it with great difficulty. The knock it created was more of a boom, and it echoed throughout the courtyard and the valley, awakening every living soul within a mile.

The knock echoed in the empty halls of the palace, and in time found their way to Regina’s bedroom, where she scrambled up and out of bed and immediately apparated her way to the door. She knew it could only be one person, and her foresight was confirmed when she pushed the door open to reveal Emma and Henry standing behind it. Henry looked as though he were about to pass out, wrapped up in a leathery cape, and Emma looked like a drowned rat - there wasn’t a single bit of her body that wasn’t dripping water.

“Emma.” Regina breathed, unable to process what she was seeing.

“Can we come in?”

Regina moved aside. “Of course.”

Henry and Emma came in, and Regina caught her son by the arm as he passed her. “I’m going to apparate you to a room. There’ll be a fire and some food, and dry clothes and a nice bed. Go to sleep, okay?”

Henry nodded and yawned, and disappeared with the wave of Regina’s hand.

Emma stood still, watching Regina quietly. Her chest was burning with a need to say something, to say what she knew to be true. She had held it in long enough; it was time to let it out.

“I love you.”

Regina turned slightly to look at Emma with her brown eyes wide. Her mouth hung slightly open as she tried to take in what Emma had just said, and when she did, she froze altogether. When she’d blurted out those words back at the palace, she had surely thought it was too early - the shock in Emma’s eyes had confirmed her fear. But now, having just heard the same declaration from Emma, she didn’t know what to do.

“Regina? You okay?” Emma asked, moving in to take her hand. “You look kind of pale.”

Regina cleared her throat. “I’m good. Great. I’m great.”

Emma chuckled and leaned in to kiss her, her wet hair sticking to her face and the edge of her hood dripping water onto Regina’s face. Regina grimaced upon feeling the cold water, and then looked up and down to see that Emma was shivering.

“You’re wet.”

Emma tried a halfhearted smile. “Way to state the obvious."

“I mean literally. Water-wet.” Regina said, rolling her eyes. “And you’re freezing.” She stepped in and rubbed her hands up and down Emma's arms to try and warm her up. Emma shied away from her touch, causing concern to spread across Regina's face. With a gentle hand, she turned Emma's head to look into her eyes and saw tears brimming up in them.

"Emma?" She asked quietly. "What's wrong?"

Emma's lip quivered, and Regina wrapped her arms around the blonde. She could feel Emma tremble against her body as she fought back the tears, and instinctively began rubbing circles on Emma's back.

"I tried," Emma sobbed, "I tried to make them believe and they wouldn't."

Regina pulled Emma in closer, not caring that she was cold and wet and getting her own clothes wet, and tried her best to soothe her. "It's okay."

"Why didn't they believe me?" Emma whimpered. Regina had no answer to her question, so instead she just pressed a kiss atop Emma's head and continued to hold her.

"I'm just so tired, Regina." The blonde's voice was ridden with sadness and exhaustion, and Regina felt her heart breaking upon hearing it.

"I know you are."

"I'm so tired of fighting," Emma continued, her voice just barely above a whisper. "I've been fighting all my life, and I just don't want to do it anymore. I can't. I'm too tired."

"You don't have to. Not now." Regina whispered. She pulled away just slightly to be able to kiss Emma softly. When she tried to break the kiss, Emma's hands grabbed her head and kept her there.

"Don't go." Emma mumbled. "Just...you keep me calm. Like this."

"Dear, you're drenched and freezing cold. I'm not going anywhere, but we need to get you out of those clothes and to bed." Regina told her determinedly.The next second they found themselves in Regina’s bedroom, a steaming hot bath prepared in the corner.

“Go on.” Regina told Emma, pushing her towards the bath. “I already had mine.”

Emma walked over to the bath and proceeded to peel her drenched clothes from her body, feeling goosebumps rising onto her skin as the cool air came into touch with it. She left the clothes in a messy heap nearby and practically leaped into the bath - but it was very hot, and she proceeded to hiss a load of curses as her body stung and burned while it heated up. She could hear laughter from the bed, and shot an angry glare at Regina who was laying on her side, watching her.

“Only you could screw up getting in the bath.”

“Well I’m sorry it’s all too hot for my tastes.”

“It’s not that hot, dear, you’re just freezing. You shouldn’t have ridden in that rain, you might get a cold.”

Emma remained silent and sunk underneath the water to wet her hair. When she came up, she saw Regina was eyeing her, an expectant look on her face.

“They’ll come around.” Regina told her.

“How do you know?”

“I’ve sent them a...trustworthy source.”

Emma rose slightly from the water and gaped at her. “What did you do?”

“Nothing bad, I promise.” Regina chuckled. “I tracked down your beloved husband and, well...gave him a piece of my mind, dare I say. He should be on his way now to confess everything he did to you.”

“And they’ll believe it?”

“I gave him all of my truth potions and sent him on his way. Rumple will be called to verify his story, of course, but he’ll make them believe.”

Emma just sighed. “I can’t believe you didn’t do that the first day. I just spent three days for nothing.”

“My dear, the only reason I left you there was to find the bastard.”

“Please tell me you kicked him in the nuts.”

“He’s not in good condition, to say the least. I figured I’d give you the honors of rendering him sterile for the rest of his life.”

Emma chuckled as she climbed out of the bath, feeling entirely warm and comfortable. She discarded the towel and walked across the room, feeling Regina’s eyes on her body, and grabbed a loose blue shirt before walking over to the bed. She slipped the shirt on and climbed into bed, crawling on top of Regina and resting her head on the woman’s chest. It was so comfortable, and she wanted to stay awake forever simply to relish the moment and the comfort that Regina brought her by existing. But she was interrupted by a yawn, and quickly realized she was far too tired. They were comfortable as they were, warm and wrapped up in one another. Regina’s arms tightened around her waist, and she felt herself pulled up slightly as Regina shifted them into a more comfortable position.

“I love you,” She whispered again, letting the words out like a sigh. She felt Regina breathe deeply, and felt a gentle hand on the back of her head, guiding her up to meet the woman’s lips with her own. The kiss was tentative and soft, and they broke apart for a mere second.

“I love you too.” Regina breathed into Emma’s mouth, holding her so delicately as though Emma were made of glass. They kissed again, sweetly - and then Emma smiled and fell back down to nuzzle her face into Regina’s neck, one hand coming to rest atop her breast while the other intertwined her fingers with Regina’s.

“Good night, Regina.” She mumbled, just barely awake.

She felt a soft kiss pressed onto the top of her head, and fell asleep.

“Good night, Emma.”


	13. Don't Leave

Emma awoke in the morning slowly, as though her mind were not ready to leave her dreams just quite yet. The cold autumn rain was still pouring, drumming against the floor-to-ceiling windows which seemed to cover the walls of the room. Because of the cloud-cover, it wasn’t very light; the only light in the room came from the fire, which still crackled happily in the fireplace. The whole space was a hazy grey, with flickering orange lights being the only reminder of movement and life in their little bubble. Aside from the rain, it was so quiet that Emma could practically hear her own heart beat in her chest, slowly, steadily.

Emma shifted slightly to look at Regina. The woman was still asleep, her face covered by black locks, but Emma could clearly see a gentle smile on those beautiful lips. She longed to get up and kiss her, to wake Regina up - but she figured it was way too early for that.

She glanced around and wondered what time it was. It certainly wasn’t morning, not anymore, and as she listened to the silence of the room she thought she heard some clattering in the hall outside. Figuring Henry was probably up, she went to get up. But she soon realized this was an impossible feat - Regina’s arms were tightly around her, keeping her in place. She tried to lift an arm to slip away, but heard a quiet whimper and looked back at Regina to see that she was awake. The arms grabbed her again and pulled her in, and Emma grumbled in response.

“Don’t leave me.” Regina whimpered, still half-asleep. Her voice was small, almost afraid, and in an instant Emma’s expression softened and she relaxed against Regina.

"I'm not going to.” Emma whispered. She moved a little ways’ up, and began tracing her finger along the lines of Regina’s face. “But we should get up.”

Regina scrunched up her face and groaned. “No.”

“Regina…” Emma said softly, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Come on.” She continued kissing her face, running her hands through Regina’s hair. With a long groan, Regina finally opened her eyes, and sighed.

“You’re annoying, you know that?”

Emma chuckled and kissed her lips. “As are you infuriating.”

Regina’s arms took hold of Emma’s waist and flipped them over, causing Emma to squeal in surprise. Regina’s lips found hers, demanding and rough, and Emma felt a warmth spread through her body from her abdomen.

“Regina. Henry’s awake.” She gasped before they could progress any further. Regina groaned and fell over to the side, bringing her hands up to rub at her temples. “Of course he is.”

“We love him, remember?”

“Of course we do. But I’m tired.”

“How come?”

“Turns out I’m no longer a fan of being alone.” Regina muttered. Emma rose to sit up and look at her curiously.

“You okay?”

“Yes, I’m just-- I spent four months alone. I didn’t realize it did anything to me until I was here all alone.”

"How come?"

Regina looked at the fire and sighed. "I...I just couldn't sleep. Not alone."

It was only now that Emma noticed the dark circles under Regina’s eyes. “Not at all?”

“No.”

Emma placed a hand on Regina’s knee and smiled gently. “I’ll go see if Henry needs anything. You sleep. I’ll be back soon, okay? I'm not going anywhere.”

Regina made a whining noise, but didn’t object when Emma got dressed and left.

 

* * *

 

She found Henry sitting in a comfortable armchair before a fire, eating an apple and reading a massive book.

“Morning.” She said, messing up his hair with her hand. “Did you sleep okay?”

Henry nodded. “The bed was so big, and so comfy - and there’s so much food. And I found this pile of books on the table, too; look, this one’s about trolls.”

Emma leaned in and perused through the page, giving her son a smile. “Looks cool.”

Henry looked around. “Where’s Mom?”

“She’s really tired. And I’m actually tired too, I just came to check on you. Will you be ok if we go and sleep for a bit longer?”

“Sure, Ma.”

“You can come in any time if you get bored or need anything, ok?”

“Ok.”

Emma sauntered back to the bedroom to find Regina fast asleep and paused for a moment to just admire the sight before her. The woman on the bed looked so peaceful, so incredibly calm that she would have given anything for a camera to remember it for all of eternity.

“Are you coming to bed or not?” She heard a muffled question from amidst the covers. She chuckled and walked over, climbing over to lay on the bed next to Regina.

“Henry’s excited about the books you left him.” She told Regina as the woman crawled over to lay on top of her.

“Good.” Regina mumbled. “Now hush.”

Emma laced her fingers through Regina’s hair and pressed a kiss onto her temple. “Sleep tight.” She murmured, feeling Regina’s body relax against hers as she slipped back to sleep.

 

* * *

 -  _A few days earlier -_

_Regina paced around in her study, stopping occasionally to throw a vase or glass at the walls in her frustration. It was hard to track a moving target, and on a ship it was almost impossible - Hook could be anywhere._

**_I love you._ **

_The words had slipped from her mouth with such ease, so gently that it had been like a breath; she would have given anything to stay, to take Emma anywhere but there, to be with her - but she knew better than that. Running away from one’s problems was not the way to go. Emma valued her family, and Regina was not going to let herself get in the way of Emma’s relationship with her family. Instead, she was determined to do everything she could to help Emma make her parents believe._

_Which was why she was pacing around in her study, cursing, a day after leaving the palace. Had she known where Hook was, she would have easily found him - but moving targets were tricky, and open sea had never been her forte. The likelihood that he was running away from her wrath was high, and so she knew he’d have some sort of magical boundary or way of concealing himself._

_An idea popped up in her head, and the next second she stood at the sea shore, ankle deep in water._

_“Ursula!” She cried out into the water. “I need a little help!”_

_She wasn’t sure whether the sea bitch would actually answer. The chances of that happening were almost inexistent, and yet, after a little while, she saw the water bubbling and a woman’s torso emerged, stopping to look at her from afar._

_“What do you want, Regina?” She snarled, her eyes glaring daggers at her. “An untimely death?”_

_“I need your help finding a ship.”_

_“Why should I help you?”_

_“You’re no fan of Captain Hook, are you?”_

_Ursula’s eyes darkened. “Not at all. His ship you’re after? What’d he do to you?”_

_“Let’s just say he will wish for death by the time I’m done with him.”_

_The octopus pondered on it for awhile. Finally, she nodded. “Fine, I’ll help you. But just because I hate him more than I do you.”_

_Regina smiled. “Why thank you.”_

_Luckily enough, his ship had just left port just a few miles away, and Regina apparated herself aboard, causing the entire crew to scream in panic. Hook, who stood at the rear, paled upon the sight, and tried to run only to realize there was no escape. Regina lifted a hand, and the entire crew froze in place, save for the bastard who was trying to scramble away from her._

_“You.” Regina seethed, storming over and throwing him across decks. “I should kill you for what you did.”_

_Hook swallowed hard and waited, eyeing her carefully. “Lovely to see you too, your Majesty.”_

_“Don’t play nice with me. I’m in no mood for games.”_

_“What is it that I did?”_

_“The love spell, you moron.”_

_“Ah, that.” Hook nodded. “Didn’t think you’d mind. A little...dumbing down of the Savior should’ve done you good, eh?”_

_Regina gritted her teeth and tried her best to contain herself. “You’re despicable.”_

_“What is so wrong about getting her love? She was happy.”_

_“She didn’t know any better. But now she does, and trust me, if you think I’m angry - she’s furious.”_

_“She remembers?”_

_“Yes, she does, and she wants to kill you.” Regina snarled. “But I’ll do one better and make you hurt so much you’ll be crying for your mommy.”_

_She grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the mast, causing the air to blow out of his lungs and pain to erupt everywhere on his back. Magic surged through her, and her hand grew burning hot, and he screamed as his skin burned beneath her hand. She released him shortly, letting him fall to the ground in a heap, the skin on his neck singed and red. She kicked him, burned him, and made sure to give him a proper big scar on his disgusting face to remember her by. His cries and screams did little to satisfy her anger and need for revenge, but she relished them anyway._

_By the time she was done with him, he was curled up on the ground, sobbing quietly. She was taking pleasure in this, but not as much as she would have done in the past - she knew Henry would not like knowing what she was doing, and it made her feel that tiny twinge of guilt._

_She leaned in close and chuckled upon seeing the fear in Hook’s eyes. “Now, dear Captain, I have a task for you. And you will carry it out, or I will rip out your heart and burn it in the seven hells of this earth. And trust me, that will hurt.”_

_She pulled out a bottle of clear green liquid and forced it onto his lips. It was a truth-potion mixed with a little bit of obedience; her own recipe. He choked on the liquid, but drank it nevertheless, all of it until there wasn’t a single drop left._

_“Now, dear, do be a good boy and make haste for the White Kingdom. You have a confession to make.” Regina said, patting the burn on his cheek and causing him to flinch. “You will go to Snow and Charming and tell them what you did. All of it, every single detail, every single day of that cursed year, and then you will receive whatever punishment they deem you to deserve.”_


	14. Justice

Snow and Charming were on their regular garden walk with Neal. Neither one of them spoke, and the silence that had befallen them was incredibly uncomfortable. Emma had been gone three days, and there had been no message - not that they expected any. She had been very clear, and the knowledge that they'd driven their daughter away haunted them more than anything. They had scouts and soldiers scouring the kingdom in search of her, although they knew precisely where they'd find her. They simply did not want to believe the fact that Emma would choose Regina over them, and prayed each day that she'd be found in some remote village and not in Regina's castle. But, as days passed, doubt began creeping into their minds; doubt about whether or not they were right about the truth after all.

“David…” Snow sighed, stopping her husband. “Are we doing the right thing?”

Her husband looked at her with his blue eyes full of concern. “I’m not sure.”

“I mean...she can’t be right, can she?”

“She hasn’t lied to us before...”

“Not that we know of, anyway.”

“But Regina?” Charming said, drawing in a sharp breath. “I don’t see how anyone could love _her_ , let alone our Emma - it just doesn't make sense.”

They both froze when they heard Neal squeal and run off.

“Killy!” He cried in his little voice, and as they looked down the path they saw Hook. He was on his knees, his hands tied, and a note attached to the front of his coat.

“Neal, come here.” Snow said quietly as Charming ran over to inspect their son-in-law. He gasped when he saw the bloody cuts and burns on the pirate’s skin, and quickly grabbed the note and read it aloud.

_“Dear Snow and Charming,_

_by now I can only assume that Emma’s attempts to convince you of the truth have failed. I have thus decided to send you the truth itself, in a neat little package. He has ingested a truth serum, which your dear little Rumple can verify. Ask him what he did to Emma. Ask him if he cast a love spell, and see if you’ll believe his word over the word of your daughter._

_Kisses, Regina”_

Snow gaped at Charming. “What on earth?”

Charming looked at Hook, then at his wife. “Surely this won’t--”

“Might as well try.” Snow said quietly, eyeing the pirate with eyes full of fear.

"Did you cast a love spell on Emma?" David asked him. 

Hook glared at them both before the serum kicked in, forcing him to spit out the truth. "Yes, I did."

Snow gasped and hid her face in David's shoulder, while David stood frozen still, his mouth hanging open.

"Now, listen--" Hook began, but was silenced by David's fist colliding with his face.

"David!" Snow cried. Neal was hiding in her skirts, and she glared at her husband. "Not in front of Neal."

"He- he did it. He-" David stammered. "I want to kill him."

"David!" Snow's hand grabbed his arm and pulled his hand back from the hilt of his sword. "Not like this."

"Then how?"

"Justice."

"Does he deserve such a thing?"

"Everyone does."

A while later, Hook was brought before them in court, after Rumplestiltskin had indeed proven that he was under the effects of a truth serum. The pirate was forced to stand despite his injuries, and he looked at both Snow and Charming pleadingly as though he were asking for forgiveness.

“Your Majesties, you must understand--”

“Silence.” David ordered. “Killian, there have been severe accusations raised against you. You have been brought before a court of law so that you can be treated fairly and punished like so.”  _Even though I'd gladly gut you._

“So, without further ado--” Snow said, nodding at the clerk to read out the questions they had prepared.

“Did you, Killian Jones, forcibly place Princess Emma Swan under a love spell approximately one year ago?”

“Yes.”

Despite this being their second time hearing this, Snow's and Charming's faces bore the same shocked expression as any other person's in the court. The clerk, not noticing this shock, continued his questioning in his dull, monotone voice.

“Why did you curse Princess Emma?”

“Because I wished for Emma to be mine altogether and I did not believe she would choose me on her own.”

“And you acknowledge that you forced her not only to love you, but to marry you and to carry out marital duties? And that by forcing her into bed with you, you were raping her?”

“Yes.”

“Have you no remorse?” Snow cried, getting up from her seat.

“No.” Hook responded, truthfully as the serum required him to.

“Did you not care that you were using her?”

“No. She belongs to me.”

Now it was David’s turn to be angry. He ran up to Hook, and almost hit him but just about regained his senses to simply glare at him and grab him by his collar. “She does not belong to you.” He seethed. “You are no man.”

Hook remained silent. David dropped him and walked back to his throne, where he took a seat and waited for the clerk to continue.

“You are hereby charged with treason, kidnapping, the use of dark magic against the princess and the Kingdom, of rape, abuse and general mischief; do you accept these charges to be true to your crimes?”

“Yes.”

“The punishment for these crimes is death. However, the carrying out of your punishment will be decided at a later time. It should also be noted that your position as the Head of the Royal Navy is withdrawn, and your marriage to the Princess is hereby annulled.”

The guards dragged Hook away to the dungeons, and the court dispersed, leaving Snow and Charming in their seats all alone. Snow was sobbing quietly, while Charming was staring into space with an incredulous look on his face.

“She was telling the truth.” He sighed. “I--”

“We didn’t believe her.” Snow cried. David reached over and took her hand into his in an attempt to comfort her, but it was of no use.

“We screwed up big this time.”

“She’s never going to forgive us.”

“How did we ever think she was lying?” David wondered aloud, still not quite believing it. "How did we not believe our own daughter?”

“She was just so different when she came back.” Snow said quietly, wiping tears from her eyes. “She-- oh, god, David, she was happy and we thought she was cursed!”

“She said she loves Regina.”

“And Regina said she loves Emma.” Snow added. “I can’t believe _she_ was the one to see there was something wrong. We’re-- we were horrible to her.”

“Just as she said. We failed her.”

“We’ve got to make this up to her. I mean - we believe her, now, right? So…”

“So…”

But they did not know what to do or how to act. They realised that they had screwed up badly, but the extent of their damage was yet to be seen; at the current moment, all they knew was that Emma had stormed away, swearing to never come back.

And, for some reason, they did not doubt her words at all.

“We’re going to have to apologize to her.” Snow finally sighed. “I mean, she tried to get us to believe for _three days_ \- that’s not someone who just walks away. She gave up because she got tired. Because we let her down. We have to try to fix it with her, like she tried to do.”

“I’m still not comfortable with the idea of her with Regina.” David confessed. “I mean...it’s just not normal.”

“I know. I’m no fan of Regina either. But I don’t think we have any right to comment on her romantic choices at this time.” Snow sniffled.

“I’m going to kill that bastard.” Charming then seethed. “He deserves nothing less than death.”

“David...I think we should give Emma the choice. Of what should be done to him. Maybe that’ll soothe her.”

“Maybe.”


	15. A Foggy Wednesday Afternoon

A week had passed since Emma had left the palace. All was well in the castle; Regina had summoned up spirit-like staff to keep the spaces warm and clean and to cook for them, and had(per Henry’s insistence) even restored the garden to it’s glory. When she had arrived, all the plants and trees had died but for her apple tree, which, though struggling, was still alive. She had revived it but hadn’t had the energy to do anything more, but when she heard that Henry wanted to explore the grounds, she had instantly created an army of spirit gardeners to keep the garden to perfection for her little prince.

Three people inhabiting a large castle was odd, to say the least. It was quiet and empty, but none of it’s three inhabitant’s seemed to mind; Henry was ready to explore everything, and spent his days scouring the halls in search of treasures and secrets to uncover. Regina and Emma, on the other hand, spent much of their time together, whether it was simply cuddling on a couch with a book or walking in the gardens. At night, they slept in each other’s arms, soundly as one could be, rid of any nightmares or discomforts of the world. Life, in it’s essence, was like a dream, and for that week, they forgot anything else existed.

But all dreams come to an end, and this particular one ended on a foggy Wednesday afternoon when there was a knock on the door. Emma and Henry were engaged in a rather aggressive and loud game of chess in the main hall, where a fire crackled happily providing warmth in the otherwise chilly castle.

Upon hearing the knock, they all stopped what they were doing. Emma’s and Henry’s eyes rose to meet Regina’s, who stood from her chair and set aside her book with a sigh.

“I’ll answer it. You two stay here. Don’t move.” She told them, making sure to sound threatening enough to eliminate any ideas of following her. Emma frowned, but returned to the game as Regina walked out of the hall to the main door.

She swung the door open using her magic, casting the knocker to fall over and almost down the stairs. She chuckled as she saw Charming on the ground, Snow standing beside him with a surprised look on her face.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Regina drawled, allowing an essence of the old evil queen to drip into her voice. She saw the royal guard’s hands were resting on the hilts of their swords, and noted(joyfully) the fear in their eyes.

“We’ve come to apologize to Emma.” Snow said, her voice wavering.

“I don’t think she wants to see you.” Regina said slowly. “And I believe it is too late for an apology.”

“It’s never too late.” David interjected. “And we’re here now. Please, let us see her.”

“No.”

“We’ll do  _ anything _ .”

Regina raised a hand to stop him and threw a glare. “You can start by apologizing to me.”

“To you?” Snow gasped. “Why--”

“From what I recall, you not only accused me of kidnapping and manipulation, but also called me all sorts of awful names. I do think an apology is the least you can do.”

“But--”

“I brought your daughter back to you, after I had saved her from the worst curse anyone could cast, and you thanked me by accusing me of kidnapping, manipulation, and by banishing me from your kingdom. I have every right to be angry at you, and every right to deny you access to Emma.” Regina snarled. “You hurt her more than you can imagine, and it’s only been a week - she’s barely recovered. When she came here, she was  _ exhausted _ from fighting you. So you have to understand, I’m protecting her when I say I cannot trust you with her, not until you prove to me that I can.”

Snow and Charming were silent for a long while as Regina waited for their reply.

“Regina…” Snow finally said. “I’m really sorry. I really am. We are - we didn’t understand what was going on, and we- we accused you when we should have thanked you. We’re sorry.”

Regina looked at her. She had longed to see Snow gravelling at her feet for as long as she could recall, and now that she had the imbecile where she wanted her, she found herself dissatisfied. This woman, who at the moment was  _ begging _ for her forgiveness, was no longer just the object of all her anger. She was Emma’s mother, someone who she knew Emma loved despite all that she had done. And she knew that hurting Snow would only bode ill for her relationship with Emma.

“I accept your apology.” She sighed. “But I’m still angry at you, and should you hurt Emma in  _ any _ way, I will not hesitate to harm you.”

“Does that mean we get to see her?” David asked hopefully.

“I’ll have to ask.” Regina smirked. She turned on her heels and slammed the doors shut with the wave of her hand, storming off towards the hall. She found Emma standing just a ways from the door, partially behind a pillar, obviously eavesdropping. The blonde emerged, looking apologetic, and Regina immediately wrapped her arms around her.

“I’m sorry,” Emma muttered, “You were taking a long time and I came to see if you were okay, and I heard--”

“It’s quite alright.” Regina sighed. She pulled away and held Emma’s face in her hands, eyeing her gently. “Are you?”

“Alright? I don’t know.”

“Do you want to talk to them?”

Emma shook her head. “Not now. I--I need to think. Tell them to go away.”

Regina nodded and pressed a kiss onto Emma’s lips. “As you wish, my love.” They walked to the door together, and Emma stood to the side as Regina narrowed them. Snow and Charming looked sickeningly hopeful, and for a moment Regina wanted to mock them for it.

“I’m afraid she needs time to think,” Regina said, “And for good reason. She wants you to go away.”

She saw their faces fall, and smirked. Her eyes flickered over to the side to look at Emma, and she instantly understood the look in her eyes and the slight shake of her head.

“Actually…” She began, causing both Snow and Charming halt in their retreat. “She doesn’t want to talk now. You’re welcome to camp out in the yard for the night. We’ll see again tomorrow morning.” With that, she slammed the doors shut and walked over to take Emma’s hand into hers.

“It’ll be all right, dear.”

“I don’t know what I want.” Emma mumbled. “I just...if I let them leave now, that’s pretty much it, right?”

Regina shook her head. “Your parents are such naïve idiots that no amount of telling off will ever end anything with them. Don’t worry.”

“What did they say? Before I came, I mean.”

“That they’re sorry. They know the truth now, Emma.” Regina said softly. “They want to apologize to you. To make it right.”

“Of course they do.” Emma muttered. “I’m just not sure I can forgive them.”

“Holding grudges is certainly one of my fortes, and while I do believe they should not be held onto indefinitely, a small amount of time wouldn’t hurt. Just to keep them on their toes.”

Emma chewed her lip and allowed Regina to lead her back to the hall. Henry was throwing darts, but walked over when he saw them.

“Is everything okay? Who was it?”

“Your grandparents came to apologize.” Emma said quietly. “I didn’t talk to them yet.”

“You have to.” Henry blurted out. “I mean, they’re your parents. If they’re here, that means they know the truth and want to say they’re sorry, right?”

“Right.”

“Want to continue the game?”

Emma shook her head. “I’m not quite in the mood.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“How about I finish the game on Emma’s behalf, and she can be the judge?” Regina interjected. Henry’s face lit up, and he hurried over to drag an armchair next to the table where Emma could sit comfortably. Regina led her to the chair and gently pushed her into it, conjuring up a blanket which she draped over the blonde.

“I’m not sick, Regina.” Emma scoffed. “You don’t have to baby me.”

“You were shivering, dear.” Regina retorted, taking a seat across from Henry. A cup of cocoa appeared in Emma’s hand, and she tried to object. But she chose not to, because the warmth was indeed nice, and she burrowed in deeper in her seat, pulling her knees up to her chest as Regina proceeded to complain about her practically inexistent playing strategy.

The evening passed comfortably enough; Emma remained quiet and pensive, but Regina would not allow her to withdraw anywhere alone. “Be quiet if you must, sleep if you have to - but don’t go anywhere. You need us and you know it.” She told Emma, and Emma accepted that. She did indeed need their company, and was more than grateful that she did not need to ask for it. Watching Henry and Regina play games and talk and have fun was all that she could stomach at the moment.

She was still angry at her parents. What they had said, what they had done, had hurt her more than she cared to admit. The thought of having to let that go, of allowing them back into her life, made her feel weak. She hated being angry at them. It exhausted her and drained her, and she would have gladly chosen to forget any of it ever happened. But she couldn’t do that, and the idea of having to go through a long gruesome talk of Snow and David begging for her forgiveness terrified her. She already knew she would cry, and she  _ really _ did not want to cry in front of her parents.

“Emma?”

Emma looked up and saw Regina standing before her. Henry appeared to be gone, and with a glance out of the window Emma saw that it was very late.

“We should head to bed.” Regina said softly. Emma nodded and stood up, allowing Regina’s hand to slip into hers as they walked to their bedroom. 

“Henry’s already gone to bed.” Regina told her. “I thought we’d go too, it’s not too late but you looked tired, so--”

“Regina.”

Regina paused and looked at Emma. “Yes?”

“Can we talk?”

Regina sat onto the edge of the bed, pulling Emma along with her, and nodded. “Of course.”

Emma sighed and let herself fall backwards onto the bed. She heard Regina chuckle slightly, and felt her hand coming to rest on her thigh. Even that slight touch was comforting to Emma, and she smiled.

“I just...I feel like shit.” Emma confessed. Regina raised an eyebrow, but remained silent as Emma continued.

“I want to forget the past year even happened. I just want to erase it away, but I can’t and I know that. But it just...it haunts me.”

Regina noticed a tear slip down Emma’s cheek, and laid down beside her. “How come?”

“I get these...memories. They come back to me. Of...him.” Emma muttered. “Even the thought of kissing him makes me sick, and what we did - what he made me do - I just want it to go away. And then there are my parents. I...I hate hating them. I hate being angry at them. It’s so exhausting, and I’m so tired I can barely think, and I thought I was good here far away from them but then they came here and I just don’t want to deal with any of it--” Her voice faltered, and Regina reached over to take her hand.

“It’s okay.” Regina said softly. “It’ll get better.”

“But it hurts, Regina.” Emma whimpered. She turned over and crawled into Regina’s arms, nuzzling her face in the crook of her neck. Regina wrapped her arms around Emma and sighed.

“I know it does.”

“I don’t want it to hurt.”

“It’s not that simple, dear.” Regina told her. “But I’m here for you.”

“You always are.” Emma mumbled. Regina moved to look at her, and saw green eyes staring into her own. “I mean--” Emma faltered, rising slightly to look at her better. “You were there for me when no one else was. And you stayed, even when I kept trying to escape and was a general pain in the ass.”

Regina remained silent as Emma’s finger began tracing her jaw. “I just...it’s so amazing, you know?” Emma continued. “You were the only one to notice something was wrong, aside from Rumple, but he didn’t do anything and you did--”

“Rumplestiltskin knew?” Regina gasped. Emma froze and stared at her, noticing the anger rising in Regina’s voice.

“Yes...”

“He knew, and did nothing?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to kill him.” Regina seethed. 

“Regina, no.” Emma pushed Regina back down and leaned in close. “It’s okay. I don’t care about him. What I’m saying is that you cared.”

Regina smiled gently and kissed Emma. “I care.”

“Thank you.” Emma breathed. “I just...I need someone, and you’re exactly what I need.”

“Using me, are you?” Regina joked. Emma tensed up and rose quickly to look at her with green eyes wide and full of worry.

“No, not at all. You have to believe me, I’m not using you-”

Regina cut her off with a gentle kiss. “I know you aren’t. I was just joking, dear.”

“Oh.”

They were silent for a while.

“What do I do tomorrow?” Emma asked quietly.

“Why are you asking me?”

“Should I forgive them?”

“Do you want to?”

Emma chewed her lip and thought. “I don’t want to fight anymore. I’m tired.”

“So you want to forgive them.”

“I guess.”

“Then do. You can forgive them and still be angry, if you want.”

“Isn’t that conflicting?”

“Not necessarily. You can accept that they’re trying to make things better and still acknowledge that they hurt you.” Regina told her.

“You sound like a therapist.” Emma quipped.

“Am I not right?”

The blonde sighed and slumped her head down onto Regina’s shoulder. “I guess.”

“Good. Now how about we get changed and go to sleep?”

“Can’t I just sleep in this?” 

“Not in those shoes you’re not.” 

Emma kicked off her boots and pulled her pants off quicker than Regina thought possible. “See? No need to get up.”

“I didn’t even know it was possible for you to move that fast.” Regina smirked as she got up and walked over to the wardrobe to change. Emma rolled over to her stomach and watched her, not even trying to hide her gaze. When Regina walked back in a silky night-dress, she flashed Emma a smile before climbing over her onto the left side. Emma shuffled over and wrapped her arms around her waist, spooning her. Regina felt Emma’s entire body become heavy as she relaxed and released a long breath.

“Tomorrow will be fine.” Regina told her. “You don’t have to talk to them if you don’t want to.”

Emma didn’t answer, only moved Regina’s hair aside slightly to press a soft kiss onto the back of her neck. “Thank you.”


	16. On Their Toes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for all the kudos and comments!

Morning came, and with it hope rose within Snow’s and Charming’s hearts that Emma would emerge from within the castle and speak to them. They missed their daughter dearly, and longed to tell her just how sorry they were. They had to fix their wrongs, and the wait was killing them. But hours passed with no response, and they grew more and more uneasy with each passing minute.

Little did they know that Emma had stood at the door since before dawn, her head and hands resting on the cool wood. Regina had let her do as she wished, only bothering her at regular intervals to offer food or drink.

Midday came, and Emma had still to move.

“Emma.” Regina sighed, placing a gentle hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “At least sit down. You’ll start cramping if you don’t move.”

Emma turned around slowly and slid down onto the stone floor. “I don’t know what to do.”

Regina came to sit next to her, and Emma reached over to take her hand into hers. “I can tell them to go away, if you want.”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t think they’ll leave, even if I tell them to. They’ll wait as long as it takes.”

“Infuriating.” Emma muttered, and Regina laughed.

“It’s obvious where you get it from.” She murmured, leaning her head against Emma’s shoulder. “Stubborn, too. Complete idiots, the lot of you.”

Emma smiled for the first time that day. “Fuck you.”

Regina rose to meet Emma’s eyes with a tentative smirk. “I mean, if you want to…”

Emma swatted Regina’s shoulder and laughed. “No way. My parents are here.”

“Spoilsport.” Regina muttered playfully, letting her head fall back against Emma’s shoulder.

“But seriously. What do I do?”

“I think you should talk to them?”

“Really?”

“But I think you can make them wait a little longer. In the evening should be long enough, right?”

Emma shrugged. “I guess.”

“You don’t have to forgive them. You can just hear them out.”

“I don’t want to hear what they have to say.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to remember what Killian did.”

Regina inhaled sharply when she heard Emma call Hook by his first name. Instead of the idiotic sigh which had accompanied his name when Emma had been under his spell, the name now sounded almost like a curse word, venomous and heavy with the weight of his crimes.

“It’ll be ok.” 

“Regina, he  _ used  _ me. He raped me. He made me into something I am not for his own pleasure, stripped me of anything that made me  _ me _ , and they didn’t even notice...and Rumplestiltskin  _ let _ it happen, and I didn’t even know…” Emma was whimpering now, tears welled up in her eyes. Regina reached her arms out and pulled her into her lap, allowing Emma to lay so that her head rested on her lap. Her fingers laced through Emma’s hair, stroking her head and soothing her in any way she could. She hadn’t wanted to imagine the pain Emma was going through, knowing the blonde could remember  _ every  _ thing from the past year.

Emma cried quietly, doing her best to swallow her sobs. She hated how weak she felt, how used - it felt like she had no value, like she was a porcelain doll that had been tossed to the ground, broken, and poorly assembled back together.

“I just...I feel so weak.” She whimpered amidst sobs, causing pain to erupt in every cell of Regina’s being. 

“You’re not weak, Emma.” Regina said softly, her voice breaking slightly. “You’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever met in my life.”

“No I’m not.”

“Yes, you are, even if you think you’re not. There’s only a handful of people who have ever dared to look me in the eye and try me, and of those handful only you have ever truly challenged me. That takes strength, and a tremendous amount. And the love potion Hook used on you? It was the strongest one known to man, because you are so strong on your own that normal love potions would not have had any effect on you.”

“But I let myself be used-”

“No, you didn’t. This was Hook’s fault entirely.”

“But I slept with him that first night.” Emma whispered. Regina froze, and she couldn’t help the envy that enveloped her mind. She was so consumed in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice Emma had turned to look up at her, and was surprised when the blonde kept talking.

“I--I didn’t  _ really _ want to sleep with him.” Emma said quietly, her green eyes scouring Regina’s face for any reactions. “I mean, I did, but I only slept with him because of another reason…” Her voice fell away, leaving Regina wanting to know more. She raised an eyebrow, and Emma breathed deeply before speaking again.

“You remember the Fireworks Festival?”

Regina nodded. It had been the last night she had spent in the royal palace before setting on her quest to find Henry. “Only bits and pieces.”

“Well, I-- I wanted to talk to you that night. But I couldn’t find you, and when I did, I was pretty drunk and you were talking to some guy, and you were smiling...and I got jealous, so jealous, and I needed to get those thoughts out of my head so I...I found Hook and…”

Regina sighed. “Even so, it’s not your fault. You couldn’t have possibly known that he was planning on casting a spell on you.”

Emma remained silent, and Regina drew in a deep breath before voicing her question.

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

Emma bit her lip and looked away.

“Emma…”

“I wanted to tell you that I had feelings for you.”

_ Oh, crap. _ “Really?”

“Yeah.”

Regina let out a disbelieved laugh. “I’m going to kill Hook.”

Emma frowned. “Why? I mean I know why, but why now?”

“Because, my love,” Regina whispered as she pulled Emma up, “he’s the reason I lost an entire year of being with you.” She kissed her then, sweetly, softly, and all of Emma’s worries melted away; all that she cared for was right before her, in the form of Regina, the woman who loved her so much it hurt. It was all too perfect to be true, and yet there they were, curled up against the door in their own little perfect bubble. It did not matter that her parents, all her worries, were waiting right outside that very door, for she was with Regina, and all was well.

“Regina…” Emma sighed once they parted. “I think I’m ready.”

Regina nodded, and rose up to help her to her feet. “You’ll be alright.”

Emma stood at the door, hesitant, and turned to look at her. “Come with me?”

“Of course, my love.” Regina said without missing a beat. Her hand slipped into Emma’s outstretched hand, and together they pushed open the door and stepped outside.

Snow and Charming scrambled to their feet from where they’d been sitting on the stairs, just a few feet from where Emma and Regina had been.

“Emma!” Snow gasped. She wanted to run up to her daughter and hug her, but refrained from moving when she saw Emma’s jaw clench and shoulders tense. The look in her green eyes was intense, angry, and above all, hurt. She didn’t speak, only looked at them, her hand gripping Regina’s so hard it hurt.

“Emma…” Snow said again. “We’re so sorry.” She saw a flicker of emotion in Emma’s eyes - pain, joy, anger - but it was only a flicker, and Emma’s face remained stony and silent.

“We didn’t believe you, and we should have. You were telling the truth. We know that now. And we’re so so sorry that we didn’t believe you at first.”

“Why?” 

The question caught them both off guard. Emma had barely even spoken; the word had slipped out as a whimper, and they now saw her lip quiver as she fought back tears. “Why didn’t you believe me?” 

Regina placed a hand on the small of Emma’s back, knowing she was teetering on the edge of a complete meltdown.

“We...we were so overwhelmed, Emma.” David stammered. “We...you came back so different from what we’d gotten used to, that we just...we didn’t know what to do.”

“You should have believed me.” Her voice was now shaking, and Regina prayed to the heavens on Emma’s behalf that she’d be able to keep her composure. 

“I’m your daughter.” Emma whispered. “You should have believed me.”

Snow was also crying quiet tears, and David looked as though he wasn’t so far from sobbing as well.

“Emma, dear, you...you seemed so happy for the year, that when you disappeared and came back changed, we could only think that something had happened-- we were so afraid that you were under a spell that we didn’t listen to you, didn’t even consider that you might have been telling the truth…”

Emma inhaled sharply, and Regina felt a slight tremble as she spoke again. “You hurt me. You didn’t believe me, and you hurt me. You sided with my  _ abuser _ , for fuck’s sake. Do you have any idea how much that hurt?”

Snow’s mouth hung open, and David looked anywhere but at Emma.

“We’re so sorry, Emma.” Snow whimpered. “You have to know that. And we know we can’t expect you to forgive us, but-”

“That’s right, you can’t.” Emma spat.

“But we want you to know that we want you to decide what to do with Hook. If you want.”

“What do you mean?”

“We held him a trial, and convicted him. He’s currently awaiting execution, unless you feel like you want to choose a more...appropriate punishment.”

Emma was wildly taken aback, and Regina suddenly realised the blonde’s legs would not hold for much longer. With the flick of her wrist, they found themselves seated around a table in Regina’s study. Snow and Charming made surprised noises, but Emma only relaxed in her chair and gave Regina a silent look of thanks. Their hands never parted; Emma could not let go, for Regina was the only source of strength she felt she could trust. Her own strength she could not; it appeared as though it were water, slipping through her fingers at the most inopportune of times.

“You want me to choose what to do with...him?” Emma finally managed, her voice trembling and barely audible.

“We felt it was only appropriate.”

“I’d vote for gutting him and leaving him for the vultures, but your  _ mother _ insisted we let you choose.” David grumbled, more to himself than anyone else. Emma stared at him, surprised at his anger, and felt slightly touched.

“You say he’s to be executed?”

Snow nodded.

“And you want me to choose what to do to him?”

“Anything you wish is appropriate.”

“I can’t...I can’t.” Emma stammered. “I can’t do that.”

Regina looked at her, surprised. The blonde had been wanting this for weeks, and now, when it was handed to her, she was reacting exactly how she hadn’t expected. Emma sighed and rested her head on her hand as she tried to regain her thoughts.

“I mean...whatever happens to him, I don’t want any part of it. He already ruined a year from my life, and hurt me more than I can say. I’m not going to let his death and suffering pain me too.” Her voice trembled with anger and hurt, and it was all Regina could do to not take her into her arms and shelter her from all the pain.

“What she means is do whatever your laws say. If he is to be executed, execute him. If he is to receive pain, give him pain.” Regina told Snow and David, who were watching Emma carefully.

“Can you ever forgive us?” Snow whimpered.

Emma looked away, refusing to let herself break. “I don’t know.”

“We were idiots. We failed you, Emma, and we so want to make it right. We’ll do anything.” David said.

“We just don’t want to lose you.”

“But how could you let me marry him!?” Emma cried. “How could you?”

David looked to Snow, who cleared her throat. “Emma…”

The blonde shook her head and looked away.

“Emma. You told us to let you.”

Emma turned to face them, eyes red with tears and fury, and glared. “What the hell do you mean?”

“You had to convince us to let you marry him. Remember?”

Emma thought for a moment - and then flinched. “Y-yes.”

Regina looked to Emma and chewed her lip.  _ Oh, Emma... _

“So you have to understand, from our perspective, everything is changing so fast-- but we just want to be there for you. We just want you to come home.”

“I get that.” Emma muttered. She let go of Regina’s hand and stood slowly, pushing her chair away from the table. “But  _ you _ have to understand that it’s not that simple. I accept your apology, but I don’t think I’m going to be forgiving you any time soon.” She walked away, towards the door, where she turned and looked at the two of them.

“Oh, and also….I’m already at home. Here. With Regina.”

And with that, she disappeared down the stairs, leaving Regina alone with her imbecile parents. She turned to look at them, a perpetual smirk on her face, and waited for their response. David rolled his eyes and got up, mumbling something about getting the men ready for departure, leaving Snow alone with Regina.

“So she’ll forgive us...some day?”

“You heard her.” Regina smirked.

“And she’ll stay here. With you.”

“Evidently.”

Snow shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Do you really love her?”

“I do.” Regina said slowly, waiting for her reaction. The woman looked uncomfortable to say the least, but whether it was the residual discomfort from her talk with Emma or the knowledge of her daughter’s less-than-traditional love, Regina could not tell. She waited for a disgusted remark, a snarky comment, anything negative really - but she only noticed Snow sigh and rub her temples.

“I suppose I can only blame myself that I did not see it sooner.”

“See what sooner?”

“You. Her.” Snow said. “It...I’m not sure if I’m fully okay with it yet, but...it makes sense.”

“We don’t need your approval, Snow.” Regina drawled. 

“I know you don’t. But I just want you to tell Emma that I’m trying. Please?”

“Trying to what? Accept her lesbian lover?”

Snow flinched visibly at Regina’s snarky tone. “I meant...it’s not so much that you’re a woman, I mean it isn’t exactly  _ traditional _ , but--”

“Watch yourself, Snow.” Regina warned her.

“But that doesn’t actually  _ bother  _ me. What bothers me is that it’s  _ you _ .”

“Me?”

“I know you’ve come a long way to distance yourself from the woman you were, but the fact remains that you  _ were _ that woman. The--” She faltered, afraid to say the words.

“The Evil Queen.” Regina spat, finishing Snow’s sentence for her. “Do you think I’ve forgotten that?”

Snow fumbled with her hands and looked away. Regina drew in a sharp breath and leaned over the table, glaring at Snow.

“Why do you think I waited  _ years _ before I dared even think I’d have a chance with Emma?”

The woman turned slightly to look at Regina. “Years?”

“The moment I saw Emma, I knew.” Regina told her. “But I didn’t do anything, because of my past. I wouldn’t have done anything even now, but Emma initiated it and I went along. So don’t you think for  _ one second _ that I’ve forgotten what I’ve done.”

Snow looked at Regina, stunned. “I didn’t realize--”

“Of course you didn’t.”

“No, not that.” Snow said quickly. “You loved Emma for  _ years _ , and didn’t-”

Regina sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Your point?”

“I’m so sorry, Regina.” Snow said quietly. “I misjudged you.”

That was not what Regina had expected to hear from Snow. She gaped at the woman, who shifted in her chair, looking everywhere in the room but at her.

“Thanks...I guess.”  She finally managed, still staring at Snow suspiciously.

Snow stood and smoothed out her dress. “Just...tell her we still love her? And that she’s always welcome to visit?”

Regina nodded slowly. “Sure.” Her voice was cold, and Snow hurried away before Regina had time to think of a pointed comment on her idiocy.


	17. C'mere

_Snow stood and smoothed out her dress. “Just...tell her we still love her? And that she’s always welcome to visit?”_

_Regina nodded slowly. “Sure.” Her voice was cold, and Snow hurried away before Regina had time to think of a pointed comment on her idiocy._

Regina stared at the table after Snow had disappeared down the stairs. She remained in her chair for a long time, too stunned to move, and didn’t notice Emma sneaking back in until she heard the floorboard creak behind her. Hands found her neck, her jaw, and pulled her face gently up and backwards to meet Emma’s lips. Emma then let go and smiled, moving over to sit in the chair across from Regina.

“Henry wants to go riding tomorrow.” She informed her, her finger drawing circles on the table. “He’s down in the gardens at the pond, reading.”

“I see.”

“What did my mother say to you?”

Regina noticed that Emma was referring to Snow as her mother again, and smiled gently at the realization that the blonde was coming into terms with them. 

“She’s trying, Emma. Not just with the whole...Hook thing, but with us. She...she doesn’t seem to mind too much that I’m a woman...she’s more concerned with my past.”

Emma’s green eyes searched Regina’s face for anger, for annoyance, but only found content and a slight twinge of guilt. She, on the other hand, was angry again, and sighed.

“She doesn’t have the right.”

“She said as much. But she felt she had to tell me why she was...uncomfortable, I suppose is the right word. And it was fair, in a sense.”

“How are you so okay with all of this?”

“Because, my dear, I know your parents are a pair of imbeciles as they are. And I’ve known Snow for a long time-”

“Don’t remind me-”

Regina smirked and held up a hand to silence Emma. “I’ve known her for a long time, and she is genuinely trying. And I know you’re tired of fighting, so I’m doing all I can to make the tension go away. I do not care for clashing with Snow or David. I may enjoy mocking and making fun of them, but actually hating them - well, that was something the Evil Queen did. I like to think I’m a little more refined than to spend my days consumed with hatred.”

Emma chewed her lip and looked at her hands, which rested in her lap. “I don’t want to hate them either. It’s not them that I hate.”

Regina nodded, and said nothing.

“I hate Hook.” Emma said, her voice echoing in the empty study. “I hate him so much, and I want him to hurt, I want him to die - but I don’t  _ want _ to want that, because I don’t want the guilt of it all to burden me.”

“Emma…” Regina sighed. “You’re not guilty of anything.  _ He _ is. He will get what he deserves, and I will take you to see it if you so wish. None of what will happen to him will be because of you, do you understand that?”

Emma shrugged and looked out the window. “He’s going to die because of what he did to me. How can I not feel guilty?”

Regina groaned and waved a hand, and suddenly Emma found herself in Regina’s lap, purple smoke dissipating all around them. She raised her eyebrows in question, but Regina held a finger to her lips and told her to shush.

“You’re not guilty of anything.” Regina told her. Emma’s hands were round her neck, and Regina suddenly realized she hadn’t thought this through. The blonde’s sudden closeness was causing her to lose her train of thought, and she had to clear her throat to catch it again.

“What I mean is...Hook did what he did to you, yes, but when he decided to use the potion, and...the other things...he was choosing that. He knew there’d be consequences. His punishment is his fault, and his fault alone. And as for the hurt...well, let’s just say that my little visit left him in a less than satisfactory condition.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “What did you do?”

Regina shrugged. “Just a little torture, is all. Maybe an hour or two.”

Emma chuckled and rested her head against Regina’s. “How can someone still be so cute when admitting to having tortured a man?”

“He deserved every moment of that pain.” Regina said coolly, running a hand up Emma’s spine. “And I left him with plenty of scars and burns to remember me by.”

Emma shifted to rest her head against Regina’s shoulder, and sighed. “What will they do to him?” Her voice was quiet, careful, as though she were a little child.

“You sure you want to know?”

“I don’t want to see it, but I do want to know.” Emma told her.

“Well...from what I gather, he’s been convicted of many different crimes. General mischief and abuse usually receive imprisonment and manual labor; rapists, on the other hand, are usually neutered and sometimes executed. Crimes against the Kingdom, which every crime against the Princess is, are also punishable by death. He’ll most likely be imprisoned for a while, and forced to do manual labor before receiving his...other punishments.”

“How will he die?”

“Probably hung, as pirates usually are.”

Regina felt Emma shudder, and lifted her head up by her chin to look her in the eyes. The anger was still in there, but there was also sorrow and relief, and she smiled gently. “He’ll get what he deserves, my love.” She said softly before kissing Emma.

“I’m just glad he’ll be gone.” Emma mumbled, reciprocating Regina’s smile.

“And you’ll be okay, my love.” Regina told her. “In time, you’ll be more than fine.”

“My love.” Emma repeated. “It sounds...odd.”

“Do you want me to not say it?”

“No, I like it. It’s just...so old-fashioned.”

“Are you calling me old?”

“No!”

“Sounds like you are, Miss Swan.” Regina teased. Emma huffed and grabbed her face by both hands, pressing a more demanding kiss on her lips.

“Hush.” 

“Really, now? You’re going to give orders to the Queen?”

“I’m the Princess, I think I can try.”

“Please.”

“Shush.”

“Make me.”

Emma grinned wildly and captured Regina’s lips with her own, her tongue slipping into her mouth as her hips moved up against her, causing a low groan to emerge from the brunette’s throat. Regina’s hands came up to push Emma away, just slightly, so she had time to voice a question.

“Are you sure you want this now?”

Emma rolled her eyes and kissed her again. “Yes.”

“Is Henry…?” Regina tried, but was interrupted by yet another kiss and demanding press of hips on her front.

“He’s just gone outside. He won’t be missing us for a while.” Emma breathed, pushing Regina’s head back gently to gain better access to her delicious neck. “I want you close. I need you close. I just...I want you.”

Regina felt her stomach flip when she heard Emma say that, and breathed deeply as Emma’s lips touched against the sensitive skin of her neck. “Fair enough” were the only words she managed to utter as the blonde’s hands slid down her body, caressing her breasts and unlacing the front of her pants. Before her fingers managed to get to Regina’s core, Emma was surprised by strong hands grabbing her thighs and suddenly she found herself on her back on the table, with Regina leaning over her with a satisfied smirk on her face.

“Wow, someone likes to be in control.” She stated as Regina climbed on top of her. She heard a low chuckle, and with a gentle tug she felt her shirt slide up. She raised her torso slightly to ease it’s removal, and immediately felt Regina’s lips on her stomach, on her chest, everywhere where there was bare skin; in that moment, her mind was gone. All that she felt was what Regina was doing, and what she wanted to do to her, the throb between her legs growing with each breath she took.

She didn’t even notice her pants were gone until they were; she looked down and saw Regina moving down to her hips, and her stomach did a thousand flips as she bit her lip to stifle her moan. The woman’s brown eyes flickered up and Regina smirked when she saw Emma looking at her, her cheeks pink with arousal and her mouth hanging just slightly open.

She placed her hands on Emma’s thighs and roughly pulled her closer to the edge of the table, and ran her tongue along the length of the wetness before her. Emma’s head rolled back and Regina felt her entire body shudder with arousal as she delved deep into Emma’s folds, soliciting whimpers and moans from the gorgeous woman before her. Emma’s hands came down to grip at Regina’s hair, and Regina noticed her legs shaking as she kept going.

“More…” Emma whimpered, lifting her hips slightly to offer Regina better access. Regina chuckled and did as told, sliding a hand up to slip two fingers into Emma. This made the blonde moan loudly, and her grip of Regina’s hair grew tighter as she came closer and closer to the edge.

Emma was seeing stars by the time she came, and for a long while, she just laid on the table, her chest heaving as she tried to come back to reality. Regina marvelled at the sight before her; Emma, completely naked, splayed on the table - so relaxed, so content, and so gorgeous it made her heart ache. She found her lust for this woman had no end; she wanted to do it all again, to make her moan and whimper and gasp her name in an endless cycle of pleasure.

Emma’s eyes fluttered open, and Regina saw a smile stretch onto those beautiful lips as the blonde saw her. 

“C’mere.” 

It was not a request, and Regina did not mind in the slightest. She climbed onto the table and on top of Emma, an idiotic smile spread onto her face. Emma pulled her in and claimed her lips, a renewed energy and passion in her being, and Regina knew she was in for a ride.

Emma sat up, pushing Regina up with her until they sat on the table so that Regina was straddled in Emma’s lap. 

“You’re wearing too many clothes.” Emma murmured as she sucked on Regina’s pulse point, her slender fingers running up underneath her shirt. Regina got the hint, and reached down to pull it off, seeing Emma watch her with lust in her eyes. Had it been anyone else, she would have never offered herself up as such an object for pleasure. She would have never imagined herself one to be giving someone a striptease, but this was Emma and she found she rather enjoyed the aroused expression that Emma’s face bore as she proceeded to undress herself. She stood up, off of Emma and the table, and took of her pants as well - neither of them spoke, mostly because Emma was rendered speechless by the sight before her.

“Are you just gonna watch, or are you actually going to do something?” Regina finally smiled, though not that much time had passed anyway. Emma blushed and sat up on the edge of the table, wrapping her arms around Regina’s waist and giving her a sheepish grin.

“I’m not sure. Depends on what you want me to do.” She smirked as she leaned in for a kiss.

“How...romantic.” Regina chuckled, rolling her eyes. Emma pulled away and gave her a sly grin, and suddenly Regina felt her hand slip down between her legs and cup her sex. She moaned at the sudden pressure, and heard Emma chuckle.

“So, your  _ Majesty _ …” The blonde purred. “Enjoying yourself?”

Emma’s fingers ran along the wetness, her thumb drawing small circles on Regina’s clit as her lips dipped down to catch her nipple between her teeth. Regina gasped and leaned into Emma, feeling her strength disappearing as the pleasurable feeling in her abdomen grew. Emma noticed this and hopped off of the table, sitting down into the chair and pulling Regina into her lap in one smooth move. Her hand left Regina’s sex for a moment, to caress her thighs and ass as she captured those plump lips again. She ran her tongue along her lip, as though asking were necessary, and Regina eagerly granted her access. She pulled Regina in closer, until there was no space between them, and then slid her hand back to where the woman yearned it to be. Regina’s clit had swollen to the point where her arousal was becoming painfully frustrating, and Emma was fully aware of this.

“Don’t tease me.” Regina growled.

“Whatever you say, your Majesty.” Emma murmured, sliding two fingers in with ease and making all determination disappear from Regina’s being until all that was left was a moaning, squirming mess of a woman. Regina’s hands around Emma’s neck were loose, her head resting against her shoulder as Emma continued fucking her, and when she came undone, she moaned against her pale skin. Once her climax was ridden out, she turned her head lazily and pressed a kiss onto Emma’s neck and sighed in disappointment as she felt the blonde slip her fingers out of her, leaving her feeling slightly empty.

“You’re quiet.” Emma observed. Regina remained silent, simply relishing the feeling of having Emma so close to herself; skin on skin, breathing as one, it was all she had wanted during those 118 days in that godforsaken cave. She felt Emma’s hand guide her face up to meet hers, and she melted into the kiss, unable to form a coherent thought, let alone words. 

Green eyes met brown, and Regina noticed concern in those beautiful eyes.

“Are you okay?” Emma asked, her voice tentative as though she feared the answer.

Regina shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“Was it something I did?”

Regina’s eyes widened as she realized that Emma thought her pensive mood had to do with what they had just done. “No, Emma, not at all. Believe me, the sex was...perfect. It’s just…” She sighed and smiled. “I just missed you.”

“Missed me?” Emma asked, bewildered. “What do you mean?”

“I--” Regina faltered.

“Hey...”

“I-- I was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” Emma’s voice was now gentle, and Regina felt her heart melt at it’s softness.

“It’s nothing.”

“Regina…”

“For a split second, I thought that you’d go home with them and leave me here. Alone.” She trembled, even though she didn’t mean to, and Emma pulled her in closer even though there was no more space to do so.

“But I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know, it’s just…” 

Regina’s silence told Emma all that she needed to know. “The cave.”

“Exactly.”

“I’m so sorry, Regina, I didn’t realize-- we’ve been so focused on me and my problems, I forgot that you--”

“Emma, it’s fine.”

“Clearly it isn’t.” Emma said sternly. “Trust me, Regina, I have no intention of leaving you alone. Ever. You’re stuck with my annoying ass for the rest of eternity.” Realizing what she’d said, the blonde blushed, and stammered to change what she had meant.

“I mean, if you want--”

“Eternity?” Regina exclaimed, raising her eyebrows. “Are you proposing?”

Emma laughed. “No. Not yet. Maybe some day.”

_ Some day _ . Regina felt a flutter of excitement in her chest, and couldn’t stop a grin spreading onto her face.

“You’re smiling like an idiot.” Emma pointed out with a smirk.

“I guess your idiocy is contageous.” Regina replied. “Your fault entirely.”

Emma tilted her head slightly and peered at Regina with her eyes narrowed. “You do know I’m serious, right?”

“Serious about what, dear?”

“Staying.”

Regina’s breath caught in her chest, despite the fact that this came to her as no surprise. The knowledge of never having to be alone was simply too overwhelming, and she found herself at a loss for words.

“Regina?”

She shook her head just slightly to clear her head, and smiled at the blonde before her. “Yes.”

“You do realize I’m still going to be infuriatingly annoying, right?” Emma asked her then, offering her a cheeky smile which made Regina want to kiss her a million times over. She opted to kiss her just once, happily and quickly, before replying.

“Yes, I do. But it seems the universe has decided that I am to fall for an idiot like you, and who am I to tempt fate?”

“Fate, you say?” Emma murmured, hooking her hands behind the brunette’s neck. “A very romantic concept, don’t you think?”

“As you said a bit earlier, I do find myself being...old-fashioned.” 

Emma sighed. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to start making me wear dresses and other shitty traditional things.”

“Don’t worry,” Regina laughed, “I won’t  _ make _ you wear anything you don’t want to. Although…” she paused, letting her finger trail up from Emma’s thigh up to her chest and neck, and admired the naked body before her. “I did rather enjoy that dress you wore.”

“The pink dress?” Emma gasped, eyes wide.

“No, not that one. The one you wore at the festival.”

“Uh…”

“It was dark blue and rather...revealing, I guess, and flattered your form quite marvellously. And there was a lace detail on the back which I loved...”

Emma couldn’t help but gape at her. “You remember?” 

The woman in her lap shrugged in response. “How could I forget? You looked absolutely divine…” She leaned in and kissed Emma, who was still stunned and taken aback by the compliments. She wasn’t accustomed to being called beautiful, and had grown to think compliments were lies; but this was genuine, she could see that, and it made her feel incredibly shy.

She pulled away from the kiss and looked away, her cheeks pink from embarrassment. Regina touched her cheek gently, her hand soft and careful, and smiled.

“Are you blushing?” She asked softly.

Emma just grumbled something inaudible.

“Sorry, didn’t catch that.” Regina smirked.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever called me...divine. Or beautiful, for that matter. Not in the way you just did.”

“Oh, Emma.” Regina sighed. “You should get used to that. Because you  _ are _ beautiful, and divine, and I for one find I enjoy telling you as much.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “You like the fact that it embarrasses me.”

“Maybe.”

“Well I’m sure your Majesty has heard every compliment in the book, so I haven’t got a clue how I’m going to top that--”

“You already have.”

Emma faltered with her words and stared at Regina. “What do you mean? I haven’t, I mean, I don’t think I’ve really been telling you anything so special--”

“You said I was kind.” Regina said quietly, looking Emma in the eyes. “At the cave, when you were just starting to come out of the spell...you said I was kinder than what you’d thought. No one has thought me kind for a very long time.”

Emma felt a sudden burst of anger in her chest; not at Regina, but at the whole world for hurting this beautiful, lovely woman in such a way. “You are kind, Regina. I don’t care if the whole world is telling you otherwise, you are kind and friendly and good and I will keep telling you that. And if anyone tries to say otherwise, I will hurt them.”

Regina laughed at the blonde’s outburst. “You are an idiot.”

To this, Emma offered her a smirk. “But I’m your idiot.”

“I’m very aware of that.”

“Forever.”

“I’d like to think so.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm always a slut for kudos and comments so feel free to oblige ;)


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